


I Wish I was Dreaming

by alivebutdeadinside_6_6_6



Series: Nightmare After Nightmare [3]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Allison Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Ben Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Ben Hargreeves' Tentacles | Bentacles, Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, F/F, F/M, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Luther Hargreeves Needs A Hug, M/M, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Protective Siblings, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:20:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28778187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alivebutdeadinside_6_6_6/pseuds/alivebutdeadinside_6_6_6
Summary: They fell into the sixties and were separated by time. The Hargreeves have lost all hope of getting back to 2019 until Five reappears, telling them about an impending doomsday.
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Ben Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves & Luther Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Luther Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves/Lila Pitts, Harlan Cooper & Sissy Cooper, Klaus Hargreeves & Luther Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz, Number Five | The Boy & Allison Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Diego Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Luther Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Vanya Hargreeves, Raymond Chestnut/Allison Hargreeves, Sissy Cooper & Vanya Hargreeves, Sissy Cooper/Vanya Hargreeves
Series: Nightmare After Nightmare [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911256
Comments: 40
Kudos: 125





	1. What Did We Do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Violence, getting hit with a car

**1960**

Klaus was screaming.

Ben was screaming.

It felt like his stomach had dropped to his feet, Ben had forgotten what that felt like.

They landed with a thud that caused Klaus to groan.

"That was-" "Exhilarating!" He smiled and Klaus groaned again as he stood up, "Where's Five? And the others?" Ben asked, looking up at the closing portal in panic.

"Diego!" His brother began waving his arms around, "Allison!"

Nothing.

The portal closed in a flash of light. That's not good.

"Oh no..." Ben turned, taking in the surroundings as Klaus moaned, "They're gone, like a fart in the wind!" He shook his head, but was mainly confused.

They'd landed in an alley, but it looked like it was in an old part of the city. Where people dressed like they were in the past.

Wait.

Five's idea was time travel.

Shit.

"Klaus, I think we need to ask _when_ we are." He glanced at him confused, then noticed the fashion sense of the people around them.

"Are hats back?" Ben rolled his eyes at Klaus' question as he walked, hoping to find some indication of what time they were in. 

He heard Klaus rambling behind him. Ben kept scouring the area as he walked, resolutely ignoring his brother for the time being. There was a trashcan with a magazine sticking out, with the date in full view. Ben ran ahead and read- OH SHIT!

"Klaus!"

"What, what?" His brother stumbled over to him,

"Look!" Ben said, pointing to the magazine.

"Well he's pretty my type but I would have to see him from the-" "The date! You idiot!" Klaus seemed to have lost his one brain cell, again.

"Oh yeah! Good idea!" Finally, "February eleventh, 1960. 1960?" They stared at each other in shock and said collectively,

"Shit!"

**1961**

Allison fell, getting the wind knocked out of her as she landed on her back. She struggled to her feet while looking up. The portal closed as the wind whipped around her, leaving her alone.

She was the only one who made it through.

Panic seized her as she ran out of the alley, hoping to catch a glimpse of any of her siblings.

(She didn't notice someone taking her picture from a second story window.)

People stared as Allison ran past, but she paid no attention, all she could think about was finding her siblings. She looked around and noticed a diner, running in without a second thought.

The customers inside noticed her immediately, giving her confused and disgusted looks. Someone to the right of Allison cleared their throat. 

The man behind the counter glared and pointed to a sign that read 'whites only'.

Where the hell was she?

 _When_ the hell was she?

**1962**

There was a loud thud as Luther flattened a dumpster with his weight. Rain began pouring as he laid there shocked. He rolled of the dumpster and noticed that the portal had closed behind him.

Was he the only one?

Again?

(The flash of a camera went unnoticed.)

"Diego? Five?" There was no reply to his calls.

"Allison!" He moved to the entrance of the alley he'd fallen in, "Allison! Allison! Alli-" "Allison!"

Luther turned at the second voice, staring in confusion as the man next to him began to scream Allison's name. There was no response, to either of them. Luther looked down as he realized,

He was alone.

Again.

**September 1, 1963**

Diego landed with a grunt and turned around.

The portal was closing and no one else came through.

He barely had time to process what had happened when somebody began to shout.

"Help! Somebody help me!" Years of vigilante instinct took over and Diego jumped into action.

He ran towards the noise, catching sight of a man running off with a lady's purse. A knife was in his hand then went spinning towards the thief, pinning him to a telephone pole. Diego jogged over, slamming his head against the pole, effectively knocking him out and grabbed the purse, handing it back to the woman. She looked at him warily before scurrying off quickly in the opposite direction.

Diego glanced around, hoping to catch sight of something familiar. Instead, he found himself drawn to a display of TVs in a store window. 

"...glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!" 

Diego recognized the man on the screen, he'd seen him in almost every history book Pogo had them read from when Diego was a kid.

John F Kennedy.

Diego was in the fucking sixties. 

**October 12, 1963**

There was a ringing in her ear and her head was pounding.

Vanya cried out as she felt herself come in contact with the rough ground.

What happened?

Her last few memories were fuzzy, confusing her more as she tried to make sense of what was happening. 

The world spun as she stumbled forwards. Where was she? 

Vanya's vision finally began to clear as a loud noise approached from her right.

BANG!

Pain erupted behind her eyes as she fell, what grasp she had on her mind quickly slipped. Vanya could barely make out the outline of someone standing over her.

"Son of a biscuit!"

**November 25, 1963**

Five landed and rolled to the ground. 

He straightened up, staring up at the portal and felt his heart race once he realized it was closing. And he was the only one.

"Luther! Diego!" There was no response, and the portal closed.

Five didn't get much time to dwell on the fact he was alone, something else caught his attention: gunfire.

The street behind him was in ruins as soldiers ran, firing as they went. Someone was screaming for a medic and others fell to the ground dead. Five was in a goddamn war zone! He looked around, scrambling for the newspaper and read the headline in disbelief.

"Soviets Attack the US? This can't be right!" But it was, the chaos around him was a testament to that. How though?

How did everything deteriorate like this? What could've caused such a drastic change to the-

Shit.

Five jumped back in time.

With his siblings.

"What the hell did we do now?" Five was thrown back as a missile went sailing past him-

Only to explode in midair, causing no damage to the surroundings. What shocked Five was what stopped the missile.

Or rather, who.

Vanya. 

Five wanted to call out, but was caught off guard at the ghost army that was quickly gaining the upper hand against a group of soviet soldiers.

Klaus!

Where was he? Five couldn't see him! Though he did see a group of soldiers point their guns at someone, only to have their heads disintegrate into ash.

Allison!

He could barely see her, then Five was shocked at the sight of Luther using his body as a battering ram. The damn tank was easily taken to pieces by his brother. 

"Five!" Diego! "You sick song of a bitch were the hell have you been!?" Five was going to waste no time. He may not fully understand what was happening, but like hell he was going to let his family fight this alone!

But before he could, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Five turned, coming face to face with someone familiar. He may have been older and was wearing glasses, but Five recognized the retired temporal assassin easily.

"Hazel?"

"If you wanna live come with me!" Five looked at him in confusion,

"What the hell is going on-" "No time to explain," Hazel pointed towards something in the sky, "Those are nukes old timer!" He was right, Five could see the missiles approach at a fast rate.

"What about my family?" Hazel shook his head,

"You can't save them if you're dead!" 

This was frustrating. He just found his family, now he had to abandon them. But Five had no choice. It was as Hazel said,

He couldn't save them if he was dead.

So with that in mind, Five grabbed Hazel's hand and allowed himself to be pulled backwards in time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just an introductory chapter, the next one will have more plot.


	2. Different Aspects of Dallas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Diego, Vanya and Klaus (and Ben) have been up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I lied, this is still an introduction, sorry.

Group therapy was the fucking worst. In all honesty, Diego preferred the mandatory silence his dad required when they ate together. At least then Diego hadn't been required to talk.

"Anyone else like to share? Diego?" Fuck no, "You've been awfully quiet this morning." For a reason!

"Just taking it all in, letting that healing shit wash over me." He quipped sarcastically. Dr. Moncton gave him a critical and unimpressed gaze before glancing down at his notes.

"Last week you mentioned your father, how because of him your childhood felt like an experiment."

"It was an experiment-" "Or it just felt like an experiment." Diego shook his head and clenched his jaw. It didn't matter what he said, everything was just refuted. Moncton stared at him, frowning at the silence,

"Let's dig deeper into that. You said your father was a villain, so you had to play hero." Diego rolled his eyes, this again, "Making daddy mad."

"I'm a grown ass man Doc-" "Who still defines himself in opposition to his father. Dead father. That's not really defining yourself, is it Diego?" 

"Why don't you tell that to Luke Skywalker!" Everyone stared at him in confusion. Sixties, right. "I know you don't get it but that is an excellent reference!" That earned him another sigh,

"Humor, good. Truth is better though."

"And what truth do you wanna pull out of me today?" He asked. This whole thing was a waste of his time, there were more important things he should be doing. Like ~~looking for his siblings~~ figuring out a way to save JFK.

"Who is the real Diego?" That's a stupid question, but he had to play along.

"I don't know, I guess I've never known. But, I think I'm ready to find out." How the hell did he manage to fake cry and keep a straight face during that?

Lila was sitting next to him and began to slow clap, prompting the others in the circle to clap as well. She was the closest thing to a, he wouldn't say friend, but she was the only person he was able to have an almost full conversation with. Moncton gave him a smile before dismissing them for lunch as he walked over to one of the orderlies.

When he was out of earshot, Lila leaned over and whispered,

"You're so full of shit."

"Tears to much?"

"He saw right through it-" "No he ate that shit up."

"Bet you three lunch Jell-O's you're wrong." She said with a smirk,

"You're on."

Diego stood up and walked over to Moncton.

"Hey, doc? You got a second?" He looked over, dismissing the orderly so he could give Diego his full attention,

"Sure Diego. What is it?"

"I, I've been doing better. Haven't I?" The doctor gave him a quizzical glance before nodding, "Any idea when I'll be getting out of here?" He asked,

"Well, you're calmer. Not as combative. And I wish you would open up more in group, but over all you are doing better. There are still a few things I would like to get out in the open, but your review board will reassess your case in ninety days so we have some time-" "No, no. Ninety days? That's to late!" Diego exclaimed, causing Moncton to frown.

"Diego, do you know what a hero complex is?" Not this again, "You said when you arrived in Dallas, you were searching for your family-" "Yeah and I didn't find them-" "Which is were the hero complex comes in along with your fantasy about saving the president." What?

"I'm no doctor, but I don't think those two go together." Diego said,

"You said you were looking after your sister and helping your brother get back on his feet, right?" Where was he going with this?

"Yeah?"

"You haven't seen them since arriving in Dallas, and you've said you searched for them but came up empty. Without either of them around for you to save, you needed something to appease your hero complex, thus the paranoid fantasy of the President being killed-" "But he will be killed!" Diego cut in,

"He will be shot in the head next week!" He had grabbed Moncton at that point, "Not unless I save him!"

"Let go!" The commotion had brought the attention of the orderlies over and Diego could see two of them approaching at a fast pace. He released Moncton, quickly shoving the pen he'd swiped into the waistband of his pants before raising his hands in a placating gesture.

"I'm fine alright!" He moved back to his seat beside Lila, "I'm sorry, I'm fine. See I'm fine." 

Once they'd backed off, Diego began glowering at the floor, ignoring Lila's attempts at conversation. He needed to get out of here. Needed to find a way to stop them from shoving pills down his throat. Needed to find ~~his siblings~~ Oswald. But none of that seemed to be happening anytime soon.

His group was lead into the cafeteria, a nurse stopping each of them to give out a handful of pills. She looked wearily at Diego as she gave him the pills, he wasn't the most favorite patient among the staff. Diego took them from her and shoved them in his mouth as he tried to quickly move into the cafeteria, only to be stopped by a hand on his chest. 

"Open up, we gotta check that you actually took them." He glared at the man in front of him, "C'mon, you know the rules. You refuse and we put you back in solitary." Diego grimaced at the threat, knowing full well they would follow through.

So he swallowed and opened his mouth, revealing it was empty.

"Tongue up." Diego rolled his eyes but touched it to the roof of his mouth. The orderly let out a hum of approval before pushing him into the lunch room.

He sat at his usual corner (Lila had swiped his Jell-O before he'd gotten to the table) with his back to the wall, the cocktail of sedatives and anti-psychotics already making his head swim. Diego tried shaking to fuzziness out of his mind, stabbing the mush on his plate harshly. Lila had sat across from him, feet up on the table as she began chattering away. It was sort of comforting, the constant stream of chatter reminded him of Klaus.

No.

Don't go there.

Don't think about them. It will only hurt more.

* * *

It had been a quiet day, which was good! 

Vanya smiled softly as Harlan played with the wooden train in front of him. She didn't mind spending the day with him, in all honesty, she loved it. Sissy was always hesitant to leave the two alone, as if worried that she was asking to much of Vanya to watch Harlan. Vanya understood her worry, but she couldn't imagine doing anything else, it was also the least she could do. Sissy had opened her home to Vanya, giving her a place to stay as she tried piecing herself together.

Ever since she (arrived? Would that be the right word?) began staying in Dallas, her memories had been blank. Nothing about what Vanya did before Sissy hit her with the car, nothing about her family ~~(if she even had one)~~ , her job, her friends or even if she lived in Dallas.

The only access she had to what she was missing was buried deep in her mind and only came out in her nightmares. Vanya didn't like dwelling on those.

Her train of thought was broken as the door opened and Sissy entered the house.

"Hi! Sorry I was gone longer than expected." She greeted, "Did you two have a good day today?" Harlan didn't look up, but Vanya smiled at Sissy,

"We did. We, went down to the horses and read James and the Giant Peach." Vanya stood, grimacing slightly at the stiffness in her leg as Sissy approached,

"Any episodes?" She asked, but Vanya shook her head, "How about you? How are you feeling?" Harlan stood up, walking over to the record player,

"Oh my headaches are a lot better. Still no memories though." Sissy gave her a small smile,

"Well, I guess we better get working on making you some new ones!" Music began floating through the house as Harlan placed a record on before returning to his original position, fiddling with his wooden sparrow.

Vanya began moving around the kitchen with Sissy as the two prepared dinner. As the two woman worked, checking on Harlan every now and then, Vanya noticed Sissy glancing at her.

"Something wrong?" Causing Sissy to pause,

"You had another one last night, didn't you?" Vanya squeezed her eyes shut, about to apologize but Sissy stopped her, "You didn't wake anyone up. You were pacing this morning, normally that happens after a bad night. Wanna talk about it?" Vanya shook her head,

"I still can't make sense of it. I, I don't know if it was some type of memory, or if my mind is just... Making something up?" She explained.

Sissy nodded as she put the food in the oven. She turned to Vanya, seemingly about to ask a question but was cut off by the door opening and her husband stepped in.

"Somethin' smells good!" Carl walked into the house greeting them as he made his way through the room.

The two of them said their hellos and resumed the preparations for the meal. Carl was already sat at the table and rambling about his day. Vanya smiled as Harlan came over to the table, sitting at his place with the wooden sparrow in his hand. 

Sissy shooed Vanya out of the kitchen when the oven beeped, telling her not to worry about it. She sat at the table, immersing herself in the conversation with Carl.

Vanya may not remember what her old normal was, but she could make due with this new normal.

* * *

"EAT SHIT! YOU SHIT-EATER!" Klaus tackled Ben to the pavement.

The two rolled on the ground, wrestling with each other and gaining the attention of a confused driver. Then again, he could only see Klaus flailing on the street. After a few minutes of tussling on the ground, the brothers got up and walked down the road.

The sun beat down on them and Klaus was glad he was wearing a pair of flowy pants, unlike Ben who was in all black (yes he knows Ben can't feel it shut up.) His feet started to ache and his beard flipped into his face a few times when there was a particularly strong gust of wind. Maybe it was time for a shave.

He tried focusing on the aches and pains of his body instead of what he was doing. Klaus was riddled with anxiety that spiked with every step closer to Dallas, but he couldn't turn back. Not now. 

They walked for hours, both sighing in relief at the sight of a stop that stood out against the horizon. Somehow, Klaus managed to pick up his pace, walking quickly towards the building. He definitely felt a blister forming on his foot from the boots.

Klaus was given weird looks as he stumbled into the bar. He glanced around before walking towards the server washing glasses with a towel.

"Yoo-hoo, exqueezes me?" He stood in front of the bar,

"Yeah?"

"Any idea when the next bus to Dallas come through?" The man behind the counter didn't even look at Klaus as he answered,

"Yep. Three o'clock. Tomorrow." Klaus nodded as he walked away and began eyeing the different drinks sitting behind the counter, making his mouth water. Ben noticed what he was looking at and was about to cut in when someone started talking,

"Hey pretty boy." Klaus turned, pointing to himself, "Yeah you. Wanna play a game of poker while you wait?" He shrugged then approached the table and pulled out a chair.

They'd played for about an hour when Klaus grew tired of the man across from him eyeing him up and down.

"You keep undressing me with your eyes, I'm going to catch cold-" "Watch your mouth! All the stupid's falling out!" Klaus snorted,

"Something funny?" Ben sighed, knowing he was about to push more buttons.

"Just remembered a little something I'm working on. 'There once was a buck from Dallas, who sported a miniature phallus.'" He shot a smile at Ben who just rolled his eyes.

"Tell you what. Since, your so cocky, why don't we up the stakes." The man was definitely getting pissed at him now.

"All my money's in the pot?"

"Throw in that sissy-ass necklace. Clyde can melt it down into a belt buckle for me." 

"That would be a pretty buckle," Ben said, "He's also bluffing. He's got nothing by the way." Klaus nodded and reached behind his neck for the necklace's clasp.

"Alright, I'll throw in the sissy necklace. If, you put in the keys for your pick up." Klaus raised his brow, necklace hovering over the pile of money. "Unless you're bluffing?" 

The man huffed, dug out his keys and threw them on the table. Klaus smirked and set down the necklace, turning over his cards.

"Full house." He said triumphantly, but became confused at the man's laugh.

"Kings over sevens." Klaus glared at Ben who just shrugged then let out a sigh,

"Alright, fair is fair and I've gotta be on my way." He leaned of the table, sliding his cards over while simultaneously grabbing the jack-ass' keys.

"You've got sticky fingers!" Klaus looked up ready to throw a retort when a fist collided with the side of his jaw, "Give me my damn keys!"

Klaus turned, reaching out for that familiar well of power in the pit of his stomach as Ben bled into existence.

"Show time Ben!" The men he'd been playing poker with looked confused and terrified at the ghostly image in front of them and Klaus began to smile with glee.

"Nah I'm good." What? "You're so independent go fight your own battles!" Klaus shook his head and ran towards the door while saying,

"Couldn't you pick a better time to self-actualize!"

He began searching the many trucks parked outside, franticly trying to find the one that matched the keys in his hands. The men from the bar burst out of the door as he found it, shouting at him to get out of the truck. Klaus ignored them, instead started the car and laughed manically at the owner's panicked face. He pressed down on the gas pedal and sped off down the dusty dirt road, no need to wait for a bus now.

Dallas was hours away, but there was a full tank of gas and an open road. And Klaus was on a mission. 

Ben huffed from the passenger seat but said nothing as Klaus drove, still in the dark about why they were going back to Dallas. Klaus felt bad about not telling him why they were going back, but knew if he did, Ben would insist on either going back to San Francisco or worse: look for their family. 

He was never able to summon their ghosts, but that didn't mean anything. Even if they alive, they might not even be in Dallas. It was a big world, they could be anywhere. Or they could have been stranded somewhere in time. Either way, Klaus didn't dwell on his family, it hurt to much.

There was that hope when he first landed that they would show up. But days turned to weeks, then months, then a whole year had past and he tried pushing away that hope. It hurt so goddamn much for that hope to fester in his heart. 

So Klaus pushed it away. 

Pushed it down so he could focus on other things.

But even then, with all the traveling and people, sooner or later his siblings became the first thought in his mind.

Klaus missed them so damn much! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: Five, Allison and Luther with guest star Elliot!


	3. Different Aspects of Dallas (pt. 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five, Allison and Luther. (Plus Elliot and Ray. Also Diego reappears)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Drinking

"How many times did I say bullet proof briefcases?" Five peeked over the car as he set the smoking briefcase to the side. 

The three blond men were scouring the area searching for him, guns drawn with no apparent concern about being spotted by civilians. The smoke from the briefcase caught the attention of the middleman, who appeared to be in charge, and he whistled for his companions to follow him towards the car. Five's eyes widened slightly as they approached, jumping quickly to the roof of a nearby building and collapsed immediately.

Five rolled onto his side, grimacing as the stitches on his side tugged against his skin. (Had it really been a few days since Grace patched him up?) From his vantage point, Five could see Hazel's body slumped back against the bench and the three men checking around the car. Sirens began to approach, prompting Five to jump off the roof and back to the alley he's landed in. 

It was overall unassuming, except for the satellites that stuck out awkwardly from the building in front of him. Five stared at them for a moment before jumping inside, cautiously walking up the stairs. He was brought to a door that was labeled as a dentist's office, but Five knew that looks can be deceiving.

He knocked on the door, quickly turning when the one next to him opened. The man who answered looked at him skeptically with a hint of worry.

"What do you want?" He asked,

"Hi!" Time to play the little kid card, "I'm selling encyclopedias for my youth group and was wondering if-" SLAM.

The door was closed in his face.

Fuck it.

Five jumped past it and landed in the apartment behind the man. He spotted Five quickly and leapt a foot in the air with a scream, scrambling to get a grip on the scalpel he'd grabbed from a drawer, holding it towards Five.

"How'd you do that?!" He questioned,

"Don't really have time to explain-" "Are you from the pentagon? CIA? FBI? KGB!" Five was getting tired of this, but something else caught his eye. Oh thank god he might be able to get through today!

"Is that fresh?" The man looked at him confused and yelled in shock as Five jumped towards the coffee pot.

He poured a cup and took a sip, walking through the open room and looked down at the beverage in his hands.

"Is this Colombian?" Five asked,

"My, my own blend." He hummed in response, taking in the newspaper clippings of UFO sightings and conspiracies. An idea popped into his head,

"You ever hear of Area 51?" The response he got was pure excitement,

"Hot damn!" The man dropped the scalpel and began stepping towards Five, "You see, Elenore always thought that my head wasn't screwed on tight, but it's all true! UFO's crop circles."

Five took a slight step back, trying to avoid the crazed hand gestures the man was throwing.

"But tell me, tell me! Why is it always an anal probe?" Okay, getting off topic,

"Any closer and I'll melt your brain!" Five gave him a tight-lipped smile, hoping he would get the message and back off.

"You need a little space. Okay, I'll be over here!" Five gave a sigh of relief before bringing up the reason why he came.

"Those contraptions on the roof? You built them yourself?" The man nodded eagerly,

"Ye-yeah I've been tracking anomalies in the atmosphere. Waiting, waiting for you! All of you!" Five raised a brow, gesturing to explain.

"It was 1960, I was in the middle of selling a new Silvertone Omega when something strange happened. Some kind of power surge in the back alley. For the past three years, I've witness five, all the same thing." He pointed to the board behind Five, "A flash of light, then someone appears.

Five studied the pictures on the board in relief, all of his siblings were here.

"They all came to the alley on and off again over the years, looking for each other. But, stopped over time."

"And I stranded them here." Five gave a harsh sigh then turned around, marching towards the man, "Listen-" "Elliot. Elliot! My names-" "Whatever!" Five's outburst caused him to stumble back,

"I have ten days to find them and save the world! Now I need your help to do that!" Elliot stared at him, wide eyed then scrambled to open the drawer next to him and pulled out a newspaper,

"I, I always thought that this mugshot looked like arrival number four." Five snatched the paper, staring at the picture of Diego. "Is, is that helpful?"

"You have no idea!"

* * *

The room Five was waiting in was incredibly dull. He sat at the table with his leg bouncing, trying to keep a straight face at the looks the staff kept giving him. They had asked where his parents were, but somehow Five had managed to convince them he was in boarding school and his parents lived out state. The hard part had been convincing the staff to let him see Diego.

It had taken some back and forth, but Five had gotten his way. Hence the room he was sitting in. Five's train of thought was broken at the sound of shuffling footsteps. 

"Five?" Diego was led into the room and stared at him a moment before moving to sit across from him.

"Hey Diego." His brother looked, rough to say the least. His hair had grown into a shaggy main, giving him a wild caveman look. What was worse was Diego's eyes.

The pupils were blown and there was a wild look in them. Five wouldn't be surprised if he'd been given a multitude of medication to be kept calm and docile, though all they'd seem to do was make his brother paranoid and on edge.

"You look good in white." Diego scoffed,

"Bout time you showed up." 

"How'd you know I'd be back-" "Because that's the kind of shit you pull!" Five leaned back at Diego's tone. He studied his brother for a moment then asked,

"Where are the others?"

"They're not with you?" Five shook his head,

"We'll find them." He was shocked that Diego shook his head. "What?"

"I've tried Five, it's a dead end. No sign of anyone." His brother sighed, "Not one." The defeated tone in his voice gave Five a pause. Of course Diego would've looked for them, Five was an idiot to think otherwise, but his brother hadn't met Elliot and wouldn't have known that they'd landed before he had.

"They're here Diego." He looked up at Five sharply, "They're all here, in this time."

"How do you know?" Diego questioned,

"Someone was watching the alley. Said he'd seen five different arrivals, dating back for three years. Had pictures of you guys landing." He explained.

Diego nodded then asked, "Was I the last one?"

"No," Five said, "He said you were number four. How long have you been here?"

"Seventy-five days, you?"

"Just arrived this morning." Diego looked at him questionably,

"How'd you find me? Your new friend help you?"

"He simply pointed me in the right direction." He stated, pulling out the paper with Diego's mugshot, "'Disturbed man with multiple knives arrested outside 1026 N Beckley.' That's Lee Harvey Oswald's place. Care to explain?" Diego rolled his eyes then said,

"Let's just say that Dallas law enforcement haven't been to appreciative of my attempts to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy-" "Because it hasn't happened yet-" "And it won't happen. Not on my watch!" Diego leaned closer,

"I've been shaving down the bars in my room. In another day or two I'll be out of here. Then I'm gonna save the president. You want in, say the word!" Five shook his head, did this idiot not know the repercussions to the time line this plan of his would have? 

"You are not going to do anything! First because of the major damage to the timeline you would cause and second: we have to stop the apocalypse. It followed us hear Diego, I saw it, nuclear war!" Five had hoped his brother would realize the severity of the situation, but Diego just sat back and laughed.

"And I'm the one locked up!" There was a manic smile on his face and a crazed look in his eyes.

"I'm serious Diego! I wouldn't say anything like that if I wasn't positive that there was a sure threat!" He finally seemed to have gotten through to his brother, because for a moment the crazed look faded and he leaned forward again.

"You're serious? There's another one?" Five nodded vigorously, causing Diego to look down in consideration, "Tell you what, I'll help you." 

"Thank god-" "After I save Kennedy. And when I'm done, maybe swing us back a few decades so that I can take Hitler's throat off with a butter knife!" The crazed look was back.

Five sighed, he wasn't going to dissuade Diego from this idea which meant he needed to make sure no changes were made to the timeline. Even if it means putting one of his brothers on the bench.

"This is why you don't have any friends." He sighed again and turned towards the guard standing by the door, "My brother is plotting an escape, the bars in his room have been shaved down-" "You piece of shit!" Diego then started to climb over the table, but was immediately slammed down. 

Five leaned down, whispering in his ear as a nurse came in with a sedative, "This is temporary, I'll come back for you. But until then, nighty-night." 

Diego went lax against the table and Five watched as he was dragged away.

* * *

Allison Chestnut could hear the happiness in her husbands voice as he entered their house, causing a smile to form on her face. If there was one silver lining in getting stuck in time, it would definitely be Ray.

"What was that?" She asked,

"We made the papers baby! And here's the best part, you're gonna love this!" Allison smiled wider as she approached the stairs, "'As the president said earlier this year, the rights of every man-" "'Is diminished when the rights of one man' or woman, 'are threatened." She smiled at Ray's expression then explained,

"I bought the last three copies at Coleman's" Ray set the paper down and met her halfway in the kitchen, wrapping her in his arms,

"I, am the luckiest man in Dallas!" He exclaimed as Allison placed her hands on his chest,

"Is that right?" Her husband nodded,

"That is right. And you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And the best part of my life." Allison felt her smile fall from her face, causing Ray to frown, "What is it?"

She sighed and said, "I just don't want you to get your hopes up. About Kennedy."

It was her curse of knowledge, knowing how long the movement would have to fight for significant change. How it was still going on in 2019.

"Change is coming baby, I can feel it! I can feel it!" He emphasized his words with a kiss to her forehead, "Speaking of which! I have a little pre-anniversary gift!" Allison stepped back, smile reforming as her husband excitedly reached for his bag and pulled out a small parcel, handing it to her so she could unwrap it.

"I know I promised you the stars but-" "The moon." Allison traced the cover of the small book in her hands before looking back up at Ray,

"I see you looking at it every night. Now, you can have it whenever you want." 

Allison smiled at her husband's gaze and pulled him in for a kiss, hoping he wouldn't see the tears beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. There had been many moments that Allison had wanted to tell Ray the truth, about her, her family. But where would she start? Would he believe her?

What she had here, the life she's built with Ray, it was good. She was happy. It wasn't like her marriage with Patrick that had been built on Hollywood glamor and a rumor, what she had with Ray, she'd been able to achieve it without her power. And she couldn't be happier. ~~(There were a few people who could add too that, but Allison couldn't think of them without breaking down)~~

The couple separated and sat at the table, hands entwined as they spoke. They began listing ideas on what to bring up during the meeting at Odessa's, knowing that with the president coming, they had a chance for something. A chance to be heard at a nation-wide scale!

Allison knew about the long fight for equality, but she was going to do her part in helping it move along!

* * *

The music of the Carousel Club filled Luther's ears as he walked up to the bar. A whiskey was set in front of Luther as someone approached him from the side. Luther turned to see Autumn, she was the only one of the servers who hadn't shied away from him when he started working for Jack Ruby and the two formed a fast friendship.

"Hi Luther!"

"Hey Autumn. How's business" She gave him a smile,

"Still waiting for the big tippers to show." Luther nodded, taking a sip of his drink and gesturing towards the drunk man slurring at Jack,

"Who's the half-wit bothering Mr. Ruby?" Autumn glanced over,

"No idea, but he's been tossing back gin like it's going out of season! Though he hasn't caused any trouble yet. I'm more worried about the kid." Luther looked at he confused,

"What kid?" She looked up at him and gestured towards the stage,

"Down there. I told him he don't serve minors." Luther turned towards the stage, catching sight of the small figure watching the dancers.

No.

It couldn't be...

Could it?

"What'd he say?"

"He asked what time I was getting off work!" She laughed and Luther gave her a tight smile before heading towards the stage.

He approached the kid, leaning down so he could be heard above the music.

"She's too young for you!" Five let out a huff of laughter.

"Nice to see you too Luther. Now quit hovering like an ambitious stripper and sit down." His brother pointed to the seat next to him and Luther sighed, "How long have you been here?"

"A year, thanks to you!" Luther made sure to let all the bitterness of the past year bleed into his voice,

"I'm sorry Luther," Five apologized, "I know that couldn't have been easy-" "I thought everyone was dead!" Five barely looked at him.

"C'mon Jack! Don't make me beg!" Luther saw the drunken man standing in front of Jack, waving his hands wildly.

"I have to go-" "Wait Luther!" Five reached up grabbing him,

"I know what it's like, being stuck in an unfamiliar place, on the run. Not knowing it this is how your life will be, or if you'll ever see the people you care about again. But Luther, you're not along! We need to find the others because the world ends in ten days. And I have no idea how to stop it." The unhidden worry in Five's eyes made Luther almost consider helping him.

Almost.

"I don't give a shit." And with that, Luther stood up and walked away.

He made it to the bar when Five caught up to him, grabbing his arm again and pulling him around.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He seethed, "I just told you the world was going to end?" Luther shrugged dismissively,

"Yeah well, you're always saying that-" "And so far I've been right!" He just shook his head,

"What do you want me to say? I've been stranded here for a year Five! I don't have time for your endless goose chases! I already have a job and I can't just drop it!" Five gave him a puzzled look,

"Wait, you work in this shithole?" 

"Yeah, my boss owns the place." He gestured towards Jack, prompting Five to look over.

"Wait, that's Jack Ruby. _THE_ Jack Ruby! The gangster that shot Lee Harvey Oswald?" He shook his head in disbelief, "That gorilla DNA has finally made it's way into your brain."

Autumn walked up, approaching the two hesitantly before saying, "Luther, Jack's about to lose it on the halt-wit. A little help?"

He nodded and was about to walk towards the man when he felt Five's hand on his arm again. Angry, Luther turned around and crouched low enough to be eye-level with him.

"Listen, you're the genius who said we should jump! And you brought Vanya! So if there is a doomsday, she's probably the cause!"

Luther shook Five off again, walking towards the drunk. The man was rambling on and on about how America was going down the road into communism, making Luther roll his eyes.

"C'mon buddy lets go." He placed a hand on the drunks shoulder, causing him to turn around and glare.

"Don't touch me!" He slurred, throwing a swing at Luther and missing terribly. Luther managed to swing him around and began to drag him away.

Patrons at the tables around them laughed at his incompetence as Luther dragged him out of the club. He saw Five eyeing him in annoyance, but ignored him. He dropped the man outside at a phonebooth and pulled out his wallet. Luther shook out a few coins and pressed them into the man's hand, telling him to call someone to pick him up. The man glared at Luther before stumbling into the booth and began pressing numbers in. The side door to the club opened and Five stepped out.

He seemed to be in a hurry, but paused when he saw Luther. The two stared at each other for a moment until Five turned back inside. Luther sighed, turning back to the drunk man in the phonebooth as he set the phone down.

"Someone pick up?" He looked up at Luther and nodded, "They on their way?" He nodded again,

"My 'ife. Pr'b'bly mad at me..." He trailed off as he slumped to the ground, causing Luther to rush forwards. He righted the man up, making sure he was being supported by the booth.

"You'll be alright by yourself? I need to get back to work." He was waved off and given slurred promises of not causing trouble.

Luther gave him a nod and turned to head back inside, and came face to face with Five. He was about to tell him off, but stopped when Five shoved a piece of paper into his hand.

"The address and phone number of where I'm staying. Even if you don't want to help with the apocalypse, I'm still trying to find the others." He didn't respond, just shoved the paper into his pocket and walked back inside.

The others. 

Luther missed them. 

For the longest time, he'd thought he was the only one left. Then he found an article about a deranged man with multiple knives arrested outside a residential building. For the first time in that year, Luther felt hope. He'd taken the car Jack lets him borrow and headed towards the asylum.

He didn't even get out of the car. Luther had sat there for over an hour before throwing the car into reverse and driving away. He repeated that for days, going there, sitting in the parking lot for hours, then driving away. There was on time he managed to stand outside the doors, but quickly walked away before anyone noticed him.

Luther knew he was a coward, but he also knew he was the last person Diego wanted to see. After what happened in 2019, what he did to Vanya, it was clear how Diego thought of him. So he didn't go back.

Somedays Luther finds himself driving in that area, but he always manages to turn away. He would see his brother, but for now, just knowing he'd made it through was enough for Luther.

Footsteps approached him. Luther turned, seeing Autumn approach him.

"Hey Autumn." She gave him a small smile, "Mr. Ruby need anything?"

"Not at the moment, just wonderin' when you'll be back. Though," Autumn held somethng out to him, "The drunk dropped this on his way out. Probably should return it to him." It was the man's wallet.

Luther took it, promising to be right back after he returned it. 

"Alright, but make sure you hurry. You were starting to worry Mr. Ruby with how long you've been standing here!" He watched as she turned away, walking back to the floor and serving drinks.

With a sigh, Luther turned and walked back outside, hoping that the man would still be there. 

He could hear the sound of a car door slam, prompting him to pick up the pace. The man was sat in the passenger side of a station wagon and the driver was shutting the door behind her. Luther was about to jog up, but stopped short when he caught sight of the driver's face.

His chest lit up with a phantom pain from when her powers had him suspended in mid-air.

His mind wandered back to the last time he'd seen her, so small and pale with purple bruises against her neck as Diego held her in his arms.

How she glanced at him before driving off, but made no acknowledgement towards him. As if she didn't recognize him. 

"Vanya?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This should be the last introductory chapter.


	4. Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego and Five talk while Klaus and Ben see Allison, Luther talks with Vanya. (sorta)

This day was pissing Diego off. 

First: Five got him thrown into solitary.

Second: He had to dislocate his arm in order to get out.

Third: He had to bring Lila with him. (Well, that wasn't to bad.)

Fourth: Three blond assholes tried to kill them.

Fifth: Five.

His brother had pulled him away from getting rid of Oswald and blackmailed Diego into going with him on another apocalypse hunt. Then his friend (Elliot?) pulled a shotgun on them and was now tied to a chair as Lila giddily painted his nails while Five set up a projector.

Diego was uninterested in what the others were doing. At the moment, his attention was glued to the board with the pictures Elliot had taken when he and the others had arrived in the back alley. This was the first time he'd seen them in months. Diego gazed at the pictures, noticing how they were labeled with numbers and dates. Klaus' picture had the number one beside it and was dated back in 1960. 1960. Klaus had been here for three years! Diego shook his head in disbelief then looked at the dates on the other pictures. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there when Five walked over.

"Got the projector set up." Diego didn't respond, "You okay?"

He took a sharp breath then said, "We don't know if they're even in Dallas Five. What do we do if we can't find them?"

"We'll find them. Sooner or later they'll make their way to Dallas." 

"How do you know?" Diego asked, "How do you know they'll be here?" His brother sighed, looking to the ground then said,

"Because you were all together when I arrived. Fighting side by side against the soldiers that swarmed the street. Only to be blown away by nuclear bombs." Five sighed again before turning back to the projector room as Diego watched,

"How'd you survive?"

"The same way I got the Frankel Footage; Hazel." 

* * *

Ben was bored. He'd been bored all morning. His last moment of entertainment was when Klaus was being chased by the truckers. 

Now his brother was hunched over asleep in a jail cell. He'd gotten pulled over the night before and was arrested by Dallas Police for driving a stolen vehicle. Klaus didn't complain much when arrested, Ben thinks he just wanted a place to sleep for the night. 

So now, Ben just wandered the halls of the police department as Klaus slept. He'd been doing this for the past few hours and was about to head back to his brother when he heard something.

No, someone, familiar.

"Chestnut. Raymond Chestnut." 

It couldn't be.

But it was!

Allison was standing at the reception desk with an exasperated expression on her face. Ben felt a smile break out across his face at the sight of his sister! She was alive! Hell, she was here! In Dallas!

But what was she doing in a police station? Was she looking for someone? Who was she looking for?

"Are you his lawyer?" The cop spoke to her with a bored tone,

"No. I'm his wife!" She was married! And she was looking for her husband!

She was looking for her husband. In a police station. Ben cast a fond look at Allison then rushed back to the holding cells.

Klaus was still snoring when he returned, but Ben has experience in waking his brother up. He leaned in close, right next to his ear and shouted,

"WAKE UP!" Klaus jerked awake, banging his head on the wall behind him as Ben snickered.

"You alright pretty boy?" The man next to Klaus asked,

"Wha- Oh, yeah I'm fine." He turned towards Ben and hissed, "What the hell?"

"I, am so damn happy we came to Dallas!" He exclaimed, causing Klaus to sigh,

"And why's that?" 

"Because I just saw Allison out in the waiting area!" Klaus froze with his eyes wide at Ben, "She's here looking for her husband! Now we need to find a way to get you out of here!"

Ben was practically giddy with happiness, but it faded when Klaus began shaking his head.

"What's-" "Holy shit!" Someone new had been thrown into the cell with them and rushed towards Klaus.

"It's you!" Klaus looked at the man confused then groaned when he showed him his hands,

"I saw you speak back in '61, in Berkeley! You changed my life!" Ben shook his head and began to scour the cell next to them, hoping to figure out which man was his brother-in-law.

He could hear Klaus trying to dislodge himself from his current conversation and move towards an empty spot by the bars. He was having more luck than Ben, at least three of the men here had a ring on their finger. One of which Klaus was talking to.

"Heavy is the head that wears the crown."

"Actually, the line is 'Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.'" Klaus huffed,

"Oh great. Your dad made you learn Shakespeare too?" The man shrugged,

"I taught it. Spelman College, or I did. Then life took me on a different path." His brother had fully turned, attention on the man he was speaking with.

"Me too!" Ben rolled his eyes, "I have all these people who have, ridiculously high expectations of me! And I don't want that! Not any more!" The man next to him nodded,

"Remember your Twelfth Night, 'Be not afraid of greatness, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.'" Klaus nodded, attention fixated on the man in front of him.

"That's deep. Though I don't think Shakespeare knew what it was like to be me." Ben rolled his eyes again while the man nodded,

"Maybe. But I always thought it's in the struggle that people find their true calling. I'm Raymond." Ben's head shot up as Klaus introduced himself.

"Klaus! That's him! He's Allison's husband!" Klaus glanced at him, then turned back to Raymond but was cut off by the cell doors opening.

"Pretty boy, lets go! The chief got a call from the governor." He gestured for Klaus to hurry along as he led him from the cell.

"The governor? You've got some powerful friends Klaus." His brother shrugged,

"I've actually never met the guy. Only a few wealthy benefactors-" The officer tugged Klaus farther along.

"Well, if you do meet him," Raymond said, "Make sure he knows my brothers here are being held without charge." Klaus looked mortified and turned to the officer leading him out,

"Is that true?" The man scoffed,

"Feel free to file a complaint!" 

Klaus was shoved out of the room with a huff and Ben on his heels. He motioned for Klaus to follow and took off towards the room he saw Allison. His brother let out a deep sigh before following him. Ben sprinted down the hall and rounded the corner, pausing to make sure Klaus knew where to go before starting again. He didn't stop running until he saw Allison.

She was sitting with her head in her hands, still waiting to see her husband. He heard Klaus stumble to a stop behind him, knowing his brother saw her. Ben turned back to Klaus with a smile, but it dropped from his face at the expression of his brother. Klaus' face had gone pale and he appeared to not be breathing.

Ben frowned. Why wasn't Klaus happy to see her?

Klaus glanced at him, and placed two fingers against his neck as if he was measuring his pulse.

Oh.

It was a signal Ben and Diego came up with once Klaus got sober. It was a way for their brother to ask if the person in front of him was alive or dead without getting odd looks from people.

"She's alive Klaus. I promise she's alive." Klaus took a shuddering breath before wiping at his eyes.

The two walked over, sitting on either side of their sister.

"So, wanna tell me about this ex-professor you married?" Allison gasped, sitting straight up and looking at Klaus in disbelief,

"Klaus?"

"The one and only!" Tears sprang in both of their eyes as Allison wrapped her arms around Klaus with him returning the gesture. The siblings held on tightly, not letting go until a throat cleared in front of them.

They pulled apart, Allison wiping at her face as Klaus turned to the officer in front of them.

"Can we help you?" The man eyed them both before answering,

"This woman bothering you?" He asked as Klaus shook his head, "You sure? She's not pestering you or anything?" Klaus shook his head again as Ben glared,

"No she isn't bothering me. You are though!" The officer looked taken aback at Klaus' icy tone, 

"I was just making you sure you didn't have a problem-" "I do have a problem actually!" Klaus reached down, tugging off one of his boots and held his foot out, "I have this really bad blister, do you think I should go to the doctor and get it checked out?" Ben let out a laugh at the face the officer made before he walked away.

"These shoes are not made for walking long distance!" He explained to Allison as he shoved his foot back in.

"How, how did you know I was even here? How the hell did you know I was married?" Klaus smiled and pointed at Ben,

"A small octopus that's been attached to me for the past three years saw you walking around out here." She let out a laugh as more tears appeared, "Anyway, how long do you think they'll make us wait?"

"What?" 

"Oh yeah, Ben and I've been thinking we were the only ones for the past three years. No way we're leaving you alone now!" Allison gave him a tight smile as he gripped her hand.

Ben sat thoughtful, when an idea popped into his head.

"Hey Klaus, do you think we could pull off a haunting?"

* * *

Sissy was walking back into the house as Vanya covered her eyes and began to count.

"1, 2, 3, 4..." She could hear Harlan running across the yard, searching for a hiding spot, "... 9,10! Alright Harlan, here I come!" Vanya walked towards the barn, certain she'd heard Harlan run in that direction. She tread carefully on the slightly uneven ground, making sure her leg didn't buckle under her. It had been very sore the past few days and she'd been limping a bit more than usual, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

"Harlan?" Vanya called as she entered the barn, "Harlan? Come out come out wherever you are! Harlan?"

There was something moving behind her, it sounded like footsteps. Shit, Vanya hoped Harlan wasn't going to try and run, she wouldn't be able to catch him with her leg acting up. Vanya turned around when the footsteps stopped, and immediately froze at the man in front of her, taking a step back as he moved forwards.

"Vanya..." He stopped walking as he trailed off and she gazed at him with wide eyes,

"You know who I am?!" She asked excitedly,

"What?" He looked at her in confusion, "Of course I know who you are." Vanya felt happiness bubble up inside her, he knew who she was!

"Oh my god! I've, I've been leaving ads in the paper hoping someone would-" "Stop! Wait just, just stop!" Vanya froze, not knowing how to react to the frustration that was painted across the man's face.

"What, what is this? What kind of game are you playing?" 

"I'm, I'm not lying! There was an accident and it affected my memory," She explained, "I can't remember anything from before last month!" 

The frustration on his face was now mixed with confusion with his brows drawn tight on his forehead. A thought crossed Vanya's mind,

"Did I do something?" She asked, "If, if I did I'm sorry-" "No! Stop! STOP!"

Harlan must've heard the outburst because he came running out of his hiding spot, rushing towards Vanya and gripping her arm. Vanya reacted on instinct, immediately reaching out and calming the young boy down.

"Who's the kid?" Vanya looked at him nervously, his height and build alone was intimidating but with this last outburst and how it affected Harlan...

It didn't matter if the man knew her or not. Right now all that mattered was making sure Harlan was safe, and that he would stay safe. So Vanya shifted so she was in front of him, shielding Harlan as best she could. (Not that it did anything, he was about the same height as her.) The man in front of her must have realized what she was doing because he immediately took a step back and placed his hands loosely at his side.

"I'm, I'm not going to hurt you Vanya. Or him."

As much as Vanya wanted to hear him out, her priority was Harlan. And the way he was squeezing her fingers indicated he was anxious about the man in front of them, so she took a breath and said,

"You're scaring Harlan. So if you want to talk, you'll wait until I've made sure he's okay and taken him back into the house." He was about to say something but Vanya cut him off, "If you want to talk you'll wait!" 

The man stared before nodding and stepping out of the barn, allowing Vanya to turn her full attention to Harlan. His grip had loosened slightly and Vanya placed her hand lightly atop his, asking if he was alright. After a few moments, he began tapping her hand and pointing towards the door,

"Do you want to go back to the house?" Harlan nodded at the question and followed Vanya out the door.

They'd barely stepped outside when Sissy rushed up to them, shotgun in hand. She checked them both over then asked,

"Are you alright? Who was that?" Vanya shrugged, she genuinely didn't recognize him. 

"I don't know. But I, I think he knew me." Sissy nodded, leading them back towards the house,

"Yeah, he does." Vanya glanced at her confused as Sissy handed her a piece of paper, "Said he was your brother, but he wasn't the best person to help you. Didn't explain why, just said there was someone here that would be able to." She looked down at the paper, studying the address and phone number that was written down.

Vanya shoved it into her pocket before looking back at Sissy, "Lets, lets get Harlan back inside. I can, I'll decide what to do with this later." 


	5. Stabby Fathers and An Ikea Mafia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego and Five try to find their father. Vanya runs into some trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Blood and violence

Five stared in disbelief at the image in front of him. The Frankel Footage had been paused on the figure of a man standing with an umbrella open on the grassy knoll, just as Kennedy had sped past. The figure was without a doubt, Reginald Hargreeves.

He could hear Diego behind him, losing his mind and rambling on about how dad must be the ring leader, he must be the one who kills Kennedy, how they needed to stop him. Five shook his head and turned to his brother.

"Diego!" He stopped mid-sentence and snapped towards Five, "I'll be the first to admit this isn't good. And hell, dad was no boy scout, but presidential assassination? Doesn't seem like something he'd do!" Diego stared then stepped forwards,

"How would you know? You skipped out on his golden years-" "Skipped out?" Is that what Diego thought?

"You think I had it easy Diego? I was alone! For forty-five years-" Five stopped, stepping back and said, "We don't have time for this. Dad's in Dallas so lets go talk to him." Should be simple as that.

"How? How would we find him?"

"Gee Diego, maybe if we had an old timey way of finding people and their addresses."

It took a few minutes of them searching through Elliot's drawers and cabinets until Diego gave him a smirk of triumph and slammed down a phonebook. He began flipping through the pages hastily until he came to the H's. They both scoured the page, coming up empty for their father's name.

"Try his company: D.S. Umbrella Manufacturing Co." Diego side-eyed him then said,

"Yeah. I know the name!" He snarked before turning the pages.

"There!" Five jammed his finger onto the page, "Umbrella Co. Eighty-two Olive! Lets go!" He began walking towards the door as Diego turned towards Elliot,

"Is he okay to be left like that?" Five cast the man a glance and shrugged,

"He should be fine. What about the girl?" He looked around, noticing she had disappeared and frowned when Diego went to look for her. Five, didn't really know what to think about Lila, he couldn't care less about her. He just hoped Diego didn't get to attached. He waited impatiently by the door, tapping his foot in frustration while waiting for his brother. Five was about to go search for the two when Diego walked out of the darkroom/closet.

"Everything good?" His brother nodded before opening the door and stepping out the door.

(The phone began to ring once they stepped out. Lila emerged from the darkroom, looked at it, then silently walked out while tossing Elliot a small wave. On the other end of the line, Vanya set the phone down and shook her head. Of course no one would answer, it was late. Whoever lived there was probably asleep! Her mind still wouldn't settle so she reached out for the keys to the station wagon and walked out the door, hoping a short drive would help clear her mind.)

It took the brothers a moment, but they managed to locate their father's business. It was an unassuming building that was located in an isolated part of town, but looked devoid of people. Good, it should make finding their father easier.

Five felt his hands grow clammy as they got closer to the door, not realizing that he'd stopped walking. It wasn't until Diego had turned to look at him, asking if he was alright that Five noticed he was a few feet behind. He shook himself and began to approach, Diego cast him a concerned glance but thankfully said nothing as he knelt and began picking at the lock on the door.

"How long's it been since you've seen the old man?" His brother asked,

"Forty-five years." Five mumbled. "You know when I was out there, in the apocalypse, there wasn't a day that went by I didn't hear his voice in my head." Diego paused, glancing up and asked,

"What was he saying?" He felt his face twist into a tight smirk,

"I told you so."

Diego stared at him a second more before turning back to the lock, shaking both his hands out before resuming to his task. It wasn't lost on Five the way they trembled, he had considered withdrawal from whatever drugs the sanitarium had given Diego would set in at some point. He just hoped it wouldn't be a problem right now.

"I get it." Diego said, frowning when he failed to unlock the door, "When I first left The Academy, it seemed like I could hear him judging every decision I made." Five stared at him curiously,

"Did it ever stop for you?" He asked

"After awhile. But when Vanya's book came out..." Diego sighed, leaning away from the door, "Look at it this way though: He doesn't know us. So he can't tell us all the things we did wrong in our lives."

"I'm sure he'll find a way." Five replied.

It was silent for a second, then Five jumped behind the door and twisted the lock. He pulled it open and allowed his brother inside. The two began scouring the area for any indication of where their father would be.

"Dad was, not one for home décor." Diego commented, but Five frowned.

He walked over to the couch and punched one of the pillows. His frowned deepened as a cloud of dust puffed up and turned back to his brother.

"I think it's more of a front." He stated as Diego furrowed his brow and looked around,

"A front for what?"

"No idea." Five said.

They walked to the end of the hall, each of them staring into the darkness of the adjacent halls. Diego turned back to Five and asked,

"Should we split up? We could cover more ground that way."

"Yeah," he said, "Yell if you get into trouble."

* * *

Vanya started the station wagon and drove off, her mind was going a mile a minute with her leg cramping and back burning. But she didn't focus on any of that.

Ever since that man (her brother?) had walked into the barn, Vanya had been asking herself how she knew him. It had sent her mind reeling when an anxious hole opened in the pit of her stomach at the sight of him, as if she was expecting him to do something. But what? What had happened between the two of them that she began to immediately feel afraid, when she didn't even remember him? Why had-

She slammed on the brakes, about a foot away from a pale man in a milk uniform. What the hell? He hadn't even flinched!

The man shone a flashlight into the station wagon and began to approach her slowly. He was coming along the side of the hood when Vanya noticed them: there were two other men, both holding guns and walking quickly towards the car. 

Vanya wasted no time and floored the gas pedal, heart racing as bullets shattered the windows. She tried turning the car away from the men, but it served off the road and into a ditch. Smoke billowed out from under the hood as Vanya stumbled out of the car with a grunt and scrambled towards the cornfield.

Out running them was not an option, her leg had been acting up and the burns on her back hurt with every harsh breath. Vanya's best option was to try and lose her assailants in the field. 

They weren't letting up. She could hear them pushing past the stalks of corn as they fired after her. 

Vanya couldn't keep running.

She dove for the ground, crawling through the stalks. Vanya tried getting out of the field, but let out a cry of pain as her leg erupted in agony. One of the men had found her, stomping a heavy boot down on her hurting leg, pinning her to the ground. The other two men appeared behind him as he leveled him gun with her face, and fired.

It happened so fast. 

All she heard was the gun go off when she felt, something, bubble under her skin and burst out. 

The three men behind her were thrown backwards and many stalks of corn were tossed in different directions. 

Vanya paid no attention.

She just got back and limped away as quickly as possible.

It hurt to breathe.

She kept going.

Her breath was coming out in short gasps as black spots swam in her vision.

Vanya continued to run.

Until she collapsed.

* * *

Five stepped carefully through the hallways, looking through the different doorways in confusion. Behind each one, was a family of mannequins. ~~(Don't think of Delores)~~ Like the ones that were used for the nuclear bomb testing sites.

What the hell was the old man doing here?

He stepped into one of the last rooms in the halls and glanced around in confusion. There were no mannequins and it was set up like a classroom. There were papers on the table with messy scrawl spread across the pages. Five could barely make out the words, but his breath caught at the name on top of the papers: Pogo.

Pogo.

Was, was he here?

Five turned around, searching for Pogo. 

There was some shuffling from one of the darker corners of the room and Five noticed something moving towards him. He stared intently and took a sharp breath when a younger Pogo stepped out of the shadows.

"Pogo!" He took a few steps forwards, kneeling so he was eyelevel with the chimp, "It's so good to see you!"

Pogo took a tentative step forward, studying Five with caution as he approached.

"Pogo, I'm not going to hurt you." Five reached out-

And got scratched by the monkey. He fell back, gripping his neck as Pogo gave out loud screeches and jumped through one of the windows, completely shattering it. Five hissed in pain as he struggled to stand and began calling for his brother.

"Diego! Diego!" There was no response.

Five pressed down on the scratches and took off in search of his brother. He continued to call out, worry increasing as he got no response. Where was Diego? Five raced towards the hall Diego had entered earlier, no sign. He kept looking and was about to give up when he heard something. It sounded like, a fight? Was Diego fighting someone? Five followed the noise, anxiety spiking when he couldn't hear anything any more. 

He picked up the pace, coming into an open area. Five glanced around and froze once he realized what was in front of him: Diego.

His brother was laying on his side, unmoving.

With quick footsteps Five ran up to Diego and rolled him in his back, swearing at the blood pooling around him. He could see the stab wound located on Diego's stomach and pressed down, almost sighing in relief when Diego groaned in pain.

"F've!" Diego tried pushing his hands away, but yelped when Five added more pressure.

"I need to try and stop the bleeding alright!" He hissed, yanking his tie from around his neck "Can you walk? You need to walk Diego because I sure as hell can't carry you!" 

Diego nodded, groaning as Five pulled him into a sitting position. Five pressed his tie onto the wound and continued to pull his brother up until he was shakily standing on his feet. It took a long time to get them out of the room, Five was bearing most of Diego's weight which was a trial, seeing as Diego was twice the size of Five.

They'd managed to get to the hallway when Diego collapsed, bringing Five down with him. Five wriggled out from under him and rolled his brother over. Even in the dark light, Five could see the blood slipping past Diego's hand. He needed to get Diego out of here.

"C'mon Diego!" He said, "You need to walk! I, can't carry you!" His brother didn't respond.

Five was getting desperate.

Jumping with another person was hard enough, jumping with someone who was stabbed was downright dangerous. But he was running out of options. 

"Fuck!" Five muttered, grabbing Diego's shoulder and forearm as he prepared himself to jump.

Alright. 3, 2, 1-

"What the hell happened?" Five jerked his head up and came face to face with Lila.

She stared wide eyed and rushed forwards, shoving Five out of the way as she moved her hands under his arms. Lila began pulling him away and Five jumped into action, grabbing Diego's feet. Between the two of them, they were able to get Diego out of the building.

Lila guided them towards a running car that was parked in front. Five moved ahead, opening the back door and helping her set his brother down on the seat with him next to Diego, pressing back down on the wound. He barely paid attention to Lila's questions, his focus on his unresponsive brother.

Five just silently begged for Diego to survive. 


	6. An Amnesiac, Bandages and Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While patching up Diego, Five realizes one of Elliot's machines was going off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Violence, injury and implied sexy time.

The first thing Diego was aware of when he jolted back to consciousness, was a blinding pain on his abdomen. It let up for a moment, then flared up in intensity causing him to scream out and his back arch. Something was holding his hands down on his chest, keeping him from flailing as the pain intensified. Diego finally managed to open his eyes, coming face to face with Lila as she held him down.

"Lila? Wh-" "Don't Move!" She scolded, "This thing looks finicky and I don't exactly trust that your brother knows what he's doing!" He looked past her and saw Five hovering over him with something in his hand. 

Diego also noticed his pants were missing. Where were his pants? Why wasn't he wearing any pants? Diego was about to voice his question, but was cut off by Five pressing down on the stab wound and caused him to scream. His vision swam with dark spots and he was on the brink of unconsciousness. As tempting as it sounded, Diego fought to stay awake. The pain was still there and was now accompanied by the smell of burning flesh. 

It felt like hours had passed when Five finally pulled away. Lila still kept a firm grip on Diego as his brother began to bandage the wound, glancing at him in worry. Once Five finished, Diego gently pushed her back and tried sitting up by himself. It took a moment, but he struggled into a sitting position with a load groan.

"You'll live." Five said as he grabbed another bandage, pressing it to his neck,

"The hell happened to you?"

"Did you cut yourself shaving?" They both looked at Lila in confusion as Five said,

"Just ran into an old friend."

Diego didn't ask. With Five, that could mean anything. He instead glanced around, searching for his pants and spotted them thrown over the back of the couch. While ignoring the shakiness of his legs, Diego pulled them towards him and tried pulling them on. Lila glanced at him in concern, but he waved her off, focusing more on not falling over.

Five on the other hand, was staring at one of the machines Elliot had lining the table against the wall. The device in question was giving off loud shrieks and beeping furiously, what the hell had set if off? His brother ran towards Elliot and untied him while asking,

"Which machine is that?!" Elliot stumbled away from Five, giving them all a worried glance before stepping over to it,

"It, it's the atmospheric radar." He began fiddling with it then turned to Five and asked, "What are you tracking? Some kind off storm front?"

"Soundwaves!" Diego perked up at that,

"Soundwaves? What the hell are you tracking soundwaves for?" Lila asked

"Vanya." Diego stood up (with difficulty) "You're using that to find her." 

"And it just did." Five turned back to him, "Alright, I'll go get her. You stay here, wait for us to get-" "What the hell? No I'm going with you!" Diego continued to pull his pants up the rest of the way, but was stopped when Lila grabbed a broom and poked the handle into his stab wound.

Diego let out a groan as he fell back onto the couch.

"Yep, you're in such a fit state you should go right now!" She said with a smug grin, 

"What the hell is wrong with you?!?" Diego gasped,

"Me? You are the one who almost died! And now you want to go galivant around Dallas with a stab wound?" He shook his head, trying to stand back up.

"If that's Vanya, I'm going to help find- Wait Five!" His brother disappeared in a flash of blue. Leaving Diego behind in Elliot's flat.

"Shit!"

* * *

The sun was beginning to peek across the sky when Vanya began to open her eyes. The first thing she was aware of was the dull pain in her leg and back with a tightness in her chest. She tried standing, but fell almost immediately, She wouldn't be able to get very far the way her leg was acting.

Vanya sat up, rolling back her pant leg in order to see if any damage had been done. There wasn't any broken skin, but there was a large bruise that was quickly forming on her calf. She rolled her pants down and began checking the rest of herself for injuries. There didn't appear to be any besides multiple scrapes and small bruises that littered her skin. That's a relief.

She needed to get out of here.

After bracing her hands against the ground, Vanya pushed herself up slowly as to not fall over. She finally managed to stand upright when the sound of footsteps reached her ears. Vanya tensed as it drew closer, crouching low to the ground and ignoring the pain in her leg, hoping that whoever was here wouldn't see her. The sound was getting closer and closer, Vanya was shaking as the corn parted to reveal-

A boy. 

He was wearing some type of school uniform, but as far as Vanya knew, there were no schools in the area with that type of outfit. So where the hell had this kid come from? Why the hell was he here? Her thoughts cut off when she realized the boy was staring at her with a small smile on his face.

The boy walked forwards, pulling back the corn that separated the two of them, but frowned when she flinched back. He stared at her a second longer then said,

"Hi Vanya." His frown deepened when Vanya didn't respond, "Are you alright?"

"Who are you?" The boy's face warped into confusion at her question.

"I'm your brother." What? 

"I have another brother?" His confusion seemed to grow.

They were both jolted out of their tense conversation at the sound of more footsteps heading their way. Vanya stood, grimacing at the pain that raced down her leg as the boy took a defensive stance in front of her. She took half a step back, wanting to get a head start if needed, but also wanting to grab the boy and drag him behind her incase it was the men from last night. After a few seconds of listening, the footsteps stopped and Vanya could vaguely see two figures standing in the corn. One was swaying unsteadily and seemed on the verge of collapse while the other appeared to be agitated, but it was definitely not the men from last night which made Vanya relax a fraction. The boy on the other hand, sighed in exasperation while turning to Vanya.

"You don't know who I am?" She shook her head, "Alright. What about Diego? Do you know who he is?"

"No, I... I don't remember anything before last month-" "Five? Vanya? Is that you?" A man's voice called out, causing the boy (Five? What kind of name is that?) to turn,

"Stay there Diego!-" "Five-" "I said stay there!" He looked back at Vanya and said, "Diego's our brother, the person with him is Lila. She's his, friend I guess. Neither of them will hurt you I promise. I'll go explain that you don't remember- Diego I said stay there!" The man had walked closer as (Five?) he spoke but stopped short at the tone in the boy's voice.

"I'll explain to them you don't remember. After that, we can go somewhere safe to talk so that the IKEA mafia won't kill us. Alright?" Vanya didn't know what to think. On one hand, she didn't know these people and they could be using her lack of memory to their advantage but on the other...

The open honesty on, on Five's face made her pause. For some reason she felt compelled to at least hear him out. So despite the slight twinge of unease in her gut, Vanya nodded.

Five sighed in relief at her response then turned towards the two other people who stood in the field. He began speaking to them and despite the fact the three of them were a few feet away, Vanya could hear their conversation clearly.

"What the hell are you two doing here!" Five hissed, "How the hell did you even find me?!"

"Elliot gave us the location. Once Diego threatened him." The woman (Lila?) replied, "Plus the giant circle in the middle of the field kinda gave away where you were." Five sighed harshly,

"Diego, you were stabbed and starting to go through withdrawal because of the drugs from the sanitar-" "I'm fine-" "You almost feel four times while we were walking!-" "Oh shut-" "ENOUGH!" They stopped bickering and Vanya flinched at the harsh tone.

"So much hostility in such a tiny package." Muttered Lila.

"Look, I'll cut to the chase: Yes, I found Vanya but," Five held his hand out, stopping (Diego?) the man from moving past him, "She doesn't remember us." Now Vanya couldn't see his expression, but she could see the way he froze at Five's words.

"What, like amnesia or something?" Lila questioned,

The three continued to converse, but Vanya's attention was drawn to a different sound: footsteps. There seemed to be multiple but the loudest was approaching behind her, causing Vanya to turn sharply. The left side of her face erupted in pain as a fist collided with it. She fell to the ground with a grunt and cried out when a foot was placed on her chest. It was one of the three men from last night, the tallest one with a scar running down his face.

He reached down and grabbed her by the throat while pulling out a large hunting knife. Vanya heard Five call out to her, but was interrupted by the sound of a gun firing. She was unable to focus on anything other than the beating of her heart and the knife closing towards her face.

There was a flash of blue and (Vanya must be hallucinating) Five was on the man's back, pulling him off of Vanya. Something flew through the air and imbedded itself into the man's hand and caused him to drop the knife with a cry of pain. Someone yelled for her to run and she wasted no time, limping quickly in the direction she hoped the car was. Her leg burned and her chest felt constricted with every breath she took. Relief rushed through her when she caught sight of the station wagon, but it quickly turned to terror when she saw one of them men standing behind it. 

It happened so fast.

Vanya felt something under her skin buzz, then flare out.

The man went flying back, hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

Oh god.

Did she kill him?

Was he dead?

What does she...

She was driving. 

When the hell had she gotten in the station wagon? Vanya shook herself as she tried to clear her head. What the hell was going on? It seemed the entire world had flipped on it's head!

There was a flash of blue and the boy from earlier was suddenly in the passenger seat.

"Jesus!" Vanya fought to keep in control of the car and her breathing as he looked at her.

"So, know a good place to get coffee?"

* * *

Otto gripped his hand, trying to stem the blood that was currently flowing from the whole left from the knife thrower. Oscar glanced at him with concern as they walked back to the truck, though they were both more worried about their brother.

Axel had been knocked out cold from the small woman's attack, leaving the two of them to pull him back. They'd finished bandaging their brother and were half-way through getting ready to leave when Otto noticed another car pull up outside the field. He pointed it out to Oscar and they watched as the knife-thrower and woman from the sanitarium exit and head into the field.

The brother's moved in tandem without speaking, grabbing weapons and following the two into the field. Hoping to finish this part of their assignment and get revenge on the woman who hurt their brother.

They were fools. Even if Axel had been with them they would've still been out numbered.

Now the two walked back to the truck with more bruises and hits to their pride.

And Axel was standing beside the truck with an angry glare at the two.

Knulla they were in for the scolding of their lives.

* * *

A hiss of pain left Diego's mouth as he redressed his wound. After the whole debacle in the field, Five had all but demanded that he and Lila go back to Elliot's, leaving Vanya to him. So now Diego was lying on his back in Elliot's bed with shaking hands and a nauseous feeling in his stomach. Five had said something about withdrawal setting in, it seemed his pissy brother was right about that.

Diego's train of thought trailed back to his sister. The first time he'd seen her since Icarus Theater, since he felt her slip from his grasp, and she didn't even know who he was. Five hadn't let him speak to her, so Diego didn't know how much Vanya actually remembered.

Did she remember the apocalypse? Bringing the house down? Was her memory affected further? What about the incident? Did she remember that? Did she even remember him? Klaus? Any of them? 

He shook his head, thinking about those scenarios seemed worse than not knowing if Vanya was in Dallas. 

Diego turned his thoughts to his father and how he might be involved with the assassination of Kennedy. He was the trigger man obviously, but was there something else? Reginald Hargreeves never did things by half, so killing the president must have some type of benefit for him, but what?

His train of thought was broken as Lila knocked on the door.

"You hungry?" She asked, "Elliot's made some moldy tuna."

"It's a tuna MOLD!" The man in question walked behind her, shaking his head.

Diego said nothing, causing Lila to frown. He heard her approach and flop next to him on the bed, head propped up on her head so she was looking down at him. She stared at him a moment then asked,

"What's going on in that small brain of yours?" Diego glared, but she was undeterred, "Feeling left out because your siblings took off? Worried for your amnesiac sister? That she doesn't remember you-" "We don't know what she remembers." Diego hissed,

"Five just said she doesn't remember anything." Lila cocked a brow then said,

"Yeah, normally that means nothing." Diego's glare hardened as she shrugged. "I'm just saying."

The room descended into silence, with Diego trying to finish bandaging himself as Lila took strands of his hair and twisted them into a small braid. His fingers brushed against the scar that resided to the left of the stab wound, it was where he'd been shot by Hazel (or was it Cha-Cha? The door had been closed and he'd been more worried about Klaus then himself at the time.) Vanya had done a good job patching him up and it had healed quickly.

Lila was muttering to herself as a question crossed Diego's mind,

"When Five and I left, you went after us. Why?" She paused and glanced at him before sighing and rolling onto her back.

"I thought you were taking off. It's, normally what people do." She explained.

Diego turned his head towards her, studying the way she was biting her lip.

"When I saw you lying there, I, I thought you were dead. In a way, it reminded me of my parents." He'd propped himself up, mirroring her earlier position, "They were face down on the floor, covered in blood. Home invasion. I was four when it happened."

"You never mentioned that in group." Lila shrugged,

"I never talked about it with anyone." She explained,

The vulnerability in her eyes and honesty in her voice tugged at something in Diego, though he wasn't sure what. What he did know was the for some reason, the thought of Lila leaving, or leaving Lila, didn't sit well with him. Diego didn't know why he felt this towards her, but the last time he'd felt like this was when he was with Eudora, and he knew that fell apart because of him.

But this, thing, with Lila...

"If, if you wanna stick around... Stay longer for a bit, that's okay." Lila gazed up at him before asking,

"Is it okay that I don't hate you like I hate most people?" He gave a huff of laughter and nodded. She laughed as well and smiled up at him.

They were very close together. Maybe...

Diego began closing the distance between them-

And Lila smacked him across the face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" She exclaimed as Diego held his face,

"I don't understand you!" He let out a sigh of exasperation and rolled onto his back.

It was barely a second later when he felt Lila swing her legs over his hips and leaned down, pressing her lips against his. Her lips were slightly chapped, but Diego paid no mind as he kissed back. Though he hissed in pain when Lila accidentally pressed against his side.

"Sorry! Too much-" "No no! Just," Diego sighed, settling his hands on her waist, "Just be gentle." She smirked and leaned back down.

"Never." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Knulla = Fuck (I used google translate so if it's wrong please let me know)  
> Also, I tried my best with the Diego and Lila, scene. I don't really know how well I portrayed the chemistry between them.


	7. On the Other Side of Dallas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison and Ben worry for their brother while Ray gets an unexpected visitor.

The mansion stood tall over Allison as she exited the taxi, nothing like The Academy that had loomed over everything and everyone in intimidation back in 2019. It actually seemed somewhat welcoming despite the obvious wear and tear of the place. She sighed, ringing the bell and waited. Nothing happened for a few moments, making her wonder if Klaus was even there. Until the door was ripped open and a blue shimmering outline barreled into Allison, nearly knocking her off balance. It took a moment for her to realize that the thing that had opened the door, was Ben.

Tears pricked at Allison's eyes as she squeezed him tightly, fisting her hands into the cool feeling leather of his jacket. It didn't matter how many times she'd seen him in 2019, Allison always had the same reaction: Biting back sobs and blinking away tears. When Ben had died, she didn't even consider Klaus summoning him, thinking their brother would've been to self-absorbed and high off his ass to try and reach out for Ben. Now, now anytime Allison saw him, she tried to make up for all the times he saw her, but she hadn't seen him. Hoping that with each embrace he would be able to understand that she had missed him.

"Oh this is so touching!" The two pulled away as Klaus (he'd shaved the beard thank god!) leaned against the doorframe, "Family moment! I'm moist!" Allison let out a laugh as he dramatically wiped away a fake tear, opening her arms and inviting Klaus in for an embrace.

The siblings stood there for some time, basking in the presence of some of the people they'd missed before Klaus pulled away. He gestured towards the door and led Allison inside as Ben looped his arm through hers. The brothers walked her into the kitchen, Ben and Allison sitting at the table as Klaus began opening cabinets in search for something edible. It was definitely, cozy, but appeared to be unlived in...

How did Klaus get this place?

"Wanna tell me how you guys ended up in a place like this?" She asked, brows raised as Ben snickered and Klaus heaved a dramatic sigh,

"Oh, you know," He turned, holding a tray with three glasses filled with what appeared to be iced tea, "Dicks, drugs, debutantes my holy trinity." Klaus shrugged and Allison shook her head,

"He started a cult." Klaus waved a hand through Ben's face as Allison choked on her drink.

"We've been over this Benny-boy! Cult is a very negative word! We call it an 'alternative spiritual community'" Their brother rolled his eyes as Allison shook her head,

"Nope, that definitely sounds like a cult." Klaus groaned, sliding down his chair so Allison could only see the top of his head, "I'm guessing that's why you had the beard?" He groaned even louder as Ben laughed,

"I honestly wish that was the most stupid thing he'd done! But to be fair, only one of those was intentional." He stated as she looked at him in disbelief,

"The beard or the cult?"

"Not a cult!"

They laughed even harder as Klaus slid out of his chair, angerly taking a swig from his glass and mumbling about unfair siblings. It became quiet as the laughter died with the only sound being Allison and Klaus taking sips of their drinks while Ben just kept picking his up and down. Could he eat while corporeal? Should she ask or would that be considered rude? Her ghost etiquette was rusty to say the least.

Her brothers bombarded her with stories of their misadventures with the cult (as Klaus continued to insist it wasn't a cult). The many places they'd traveled to and the people that'd been picked up along the way. Allison noticed how Ben talked about one member in particular, Jill. At first, Allison assumed that Klaus had been close friends with her, but after Klaus asked multiple times who she was, (much to Ben's visible displeasure) it became apparent what had happened: Ben had developed a crush. And by the teasing tone Klaus had in his voice, he'd realized it too. They'd continued on with telling her about their travels, finishing the story with the two of them high tailing out of San Francisco without the cult's knowledge. Allison wanted to ask why they'd left, but Klaus had quickly changed the subject by turning the questions to her.

"Enough about us!" He stated, putting his hand back in Ben's face when he tried to protest (he still didn't know why Klaus dragged them out of San Francisco), "What about you? What about Professor Raymond? How'd you meet? Who made the first move? When'd you get married? Was it a big affair or a small one? What was your dress like? Do you still have it? Can you show it to me and Ben? Oh, oh oh! You should put it on! I'd love to see you in it!" Allison giggled at her brother's excitement and began retelling her tale of arriving in the sixties. 

They listened with rapt attention as she told them about her first hour after landing in the alley, how she ran through the streets in terror afraid she was the only one left. Her brothers gripped her hands tightly when she told them about the group of boys that'd chased her, not stopping until she ran into Odessa's Beauty Parlor. (No one said anything about the way Ben's jacket seem to bulge outward as his face morphed into anger at what she had to tell with.) Allison had to assure both of them multiple times that she hadn't been injured that night in anyway shape or form. That the woman at the parlor looked after her and gave her a place to work, helping her find her footing in this new time.

She smiled softly as she explained that was how Ray and her met, that after months, she'd finally gotten the courage to use her voice the first time when he introduced himself. Klaus scooted his chair around the table, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as Ben quietly asked how long she had been unable to speak for.

"About a year." She shuddered slightly as a phantom pain flared across her neck for less than a second as she remembered what happened.

Vanya panicking as waves of power surged out from her while Allison struggled to stay close to her sister. Diego yelling, how she needed to calm Vanya down. How she silently begged for Vanya to understand as she began to form the phrase, activating her power. Her memory was slightly fuzzy after that, the main thing she remembered was pain. Anything after was a blur. Allison shook herself, focusing back on her brothers.

"It, it's fine. I, really like who I am without it, and the life I've built without my powers."

"And Ray?" She turned towards Ben, "He's good to you? Makes you happy?" 

"Yes Ben. To both those questions." Ben nodded in satisfaction as Allison smiled, even in death her brother still had a kind heart. Though her smile faded as she remembered how, tense things were last night. Klaus and Ben noticed the shift in her mood immediately.

"Alright Allie, tell your big brothers' what's wrong." Klaus said, scooting his chair back but keeping a hold of Allison's hand,

"It's just..." She sighed, staring down at the table, "It's been tense, since he got out of prison."

"Why? Thought the two of you would've been celebrating him getting out." Stated Klaus as Ben shook his head,

"Does it have anything to do with Klaus telling him we're your brothers?"

"Wait, shit, really?" She nodded and Klaus' face fell, "I, Allison I didn't mean to... I was just really happy to see you again! I, I didn't mean to-" He cut off, gaze falling to the floor as he pulled his hand out of Allison's. 

"He, asked if there were any other secrets, I was keeping from him and..." Allison trailed off,

"And?" Prompted Ben,

"I, didn't know how to answer." She said, fiddling with the ring on her finger, "I mean I, I've always wanted to, to tell him the truth. About everything, the time travel, where I came from, _when_ I came from. But how the hell do you explain to someone you have powers, let alone you came from the future?" Ben reached out, gripping her hand again,

"I'm sorry Allison. I, cannot imagine what that's like." Allison gave him a tight smile while blinking back tears,

"I just, I wish I knew what to do!" Ben nodded sympathetically while Klaus had kept his gaze pinned to the table. Silence descended on the siblings, only broken when Klaus took a shaky breath.

"Maybe you do, maybe you don't. It's your decision and he needs to trust you on it." She shook her head,

"I wish it was that simple Klaus." Allison said, 

"It should be!" He scoffed, "Wasn't that the whole point of marrying you? Publicly declaring that he loves you and trusts you to hold a part of him? Be apart of his life? Because if Ray can't trust that you'll tell him the truth then what was the point of all that?" Klaus shook slightly and was gripping something in his hand tightly,

"Klaus-" Ben started, but Klaus cut him off,

"If, if Ray starts doubting you because of something a random person said, then he's gonna end up pushing you away! And life is crazy and short! So who knows how much time you two actually have together!" "Klaus-" "For all you know, everything could be fine one day then the next you're holding onto the person you love as he bleeds-" He slammed his mouth shut with an audible click, staring at the ground. Allison noticed tears start to gather in his eyes, causing her to reach for the hand he had on the table. Klaus jerked his hand away, instead he grabbed his and Allison's glass, muttering something about a refill before walking back to the kitchen. She glanced at Ben, noticing the look of realization on his face.

"Ben?"

"I think I know why we came back to Dallas." He said, "Klaus, he's been having nightmares about Vietnam, more so than usual. He never talks about them, dealing with it on his own." Ben sighed while Allison looked at him confused,

"So he ran from the cult, because of the nightmares?" Ben shook his head,

"I think the nightmares are part of it."

"Then what do you think the main reason is?" She asked, staring into the kitchen and watching Klaus fumble about as Ben sighed again,

"Dave. I think he's looking for Dave." 

* * *

Ray sighed as he paced the kitchen, thoughts racing through his head. Allison wasn't with him, she'd disappeared after the meeting at Odessa's. He sighed again, pulling out a chair and sitting at the table while he thought back on the past day.

When Allison had finally been able to the see Ray while he was in prison, their conversation had been cut short as an officer came in and hastily led the two out of the holding cells. Both were confused and surprised at the quick release, but there was an underlying fear that this was some type of set up by the authorities. So imagine his surprise when they were met with the sight of Klaus sitting in the waiting area with his feet up and a flashing the two with a bright smile. The man bounced to his feet and threw his arms around them, leading the couple out of the precinct while spewing a thousand words per minute. Which led to Klaus telling Ray, that he was Allison's brother. Klaus hadn't noticed his slip up, just kept talking and told Allison were to find him so they could catch up before turning on his heal and walking off. 

Ray stared at the flamboyant man as he strolled away before turning to his wife. Allison was shaking her head and pursing her lips, twisting the ring on her finger nervously. It was a nervous habit she'd picked up shortly after they got engaged. The two had walked home in a tense silence, unsure of what to say. It wasn't until after they'd closed to door of their house and Allison had hung up her coat that he'd asked,

"Are there any other secrets that you're hiding?" Allison had visibly tensed before sighing and moving towards the couch.

She sat down heavily, placing her purse on the table, then slowly nodded. Ray's felt his heart drop, but stood in front of her waiting, hoping she would trust him enough to speak. He watched as she looked down, rubbing at the scar on her neck as she opened and closed her mouth, then shook her head. He stared a moment longer before nodding his head and turning away.

Ray spent the rest of the night upstairs in their room, going over notes and key points he wanted to bring up at the meeting before the sit-in. Normally he'd go over them with Allison...

The Chestnuts spent the rest of the night separate from each other, Ray in their room while Allison walked about the kitchen. The next morning was no different. Ray had woken up, hunched over his desk and an ache in his neck while Allison sat at the table with her third cup of coffee. Neither really spoke to each other as they got ready for the day or when they left for Odessa's. They were civil to each other, but many of the others noticed an underlying tension between the two. 

After finalizing their plans for the sit-in, the meeting dismissed. It was a few hours until the agreed upon time so Ray wanted to speak with Allison, hoping to convince her to tell him what was going on but was stopped by Miles. He'd asked Ray if everything alright and he told his friend that he and Allison were still a little shaken about the events that'd happened the day before. Miles had looked him over with a critical eye before nodding and saying he would see Ray later. Ray had thanked him and turned to find out Allison had already left.

Now he was sitting in the kitchen, alone. Worried. Maybe he should check the address Klaus had given Allison, maybe she went there? But what if-

There was a knock on the door. 

Ray sighed, getting up to answer, though stopped short at the silhouette in the window. That was without a doubt the biggest man he'd ever seen. He took a deep breath and opened the door, to the giant man on his porch.

The giant _white_ man on his porch. 

They both stared at each other before the man awkwardly shifted and said,

"I, think I have the wrong house." He gave Ray a sheepish smile,

"Who, who are you looking for?"

"Allison Hargreeves." Ray took in a sharp breath. Another white boy was claiming to know his wife, what the hell was going on? "If, if you could just point me in the right direction I'll be on my way."

"Alright, I'll do that. As soon as you tell me how you know my wife." He watched as the man's face morphed into confusion,

"Wife?" Ray nodded as the man stared at him dumbfounded before he stuck out his hand and said, "Luther Hargreeves, I'm her brother."

* * *

The two sat across from each other at the kitchen table, both unsure what to say. Ray had been studying his supposed brother-in-law for the past few minutes as he chewed awkwardly at the chocolate he'd brought. A few seconds passed before the silence was broken,

"How long have you two been married?" Luther asked through the bits of chocolate in his mouth,

"Coming up on a year now." Replied Ray and despite the current situation, he felt a smile begin to form on his face at the thought.

"Congratulations. That's uh, that's really great." Luther cleared his throat, "Glad, glad things are working out." He began looking around the room before pinning his gaze to the floor,

"Thank you." 

Silence descended on the two as Luther closed the box. Ray glanced up at the clock and noticed there was about thirty minutes until it was time for the sit-in. He got up out of his chair, rummaging around for his coat before turning back to Luther.

"Listen, I got to go." Luther nodded and stood up as well.

"Yeah, I uh, sorry about barging in like this. Unannounced and everything." Ray stared at him, and nodded slowly,

"Would you like to leave a message for Allison?" The man in front of him nodded,

"Can you just tell her I need to talk with her and..." He paused, took a breath and continued, "And that I found Vanya?"

He cast Luther a confused glance and asked, "Vanya? Who's Vanya?"

"Our sister-" "Sister?" Luther stared at him, apparently equally confused, "Allison never mentioned a sister. Let alone a brother hell, let alone two brothers." Ray shook his head,

"Two brothers?" He turned back to Luther, "Who, who else is here?"

"Klaus. You, you didn't know he was in Dallas?" 

"No, I, in all honesty I didn't even know Allison was in Dallas until recently." He explained "I didn't know any of them were in Dallas."

Ray stared at him, then looked at the clock. He really needed to go, but he also needed more answers.

"What happened between you and the others?" Luther sighed as his shoulders slumped forwards,

"I thought I was doing the right thing, but instead I screwed it all to hell." Luther sighed again and began to move past Ray, "It, it was nice meeting you. I, sorry again about showing up unannounced and everything."

Both men left the house minutes of each other.

Luther sat in his car, glancing at the dashboard clock. He still had sometime before the fight. Maybe it was time to pay a visit to Diego.

Ray was in the back of a taxi as it drove to Stadtler's, thoughts running wild in his head. First Klaus, then Luther and now a sister, what else had Allison failed to mention? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a side note: Luther doesn't know Diego has escaped yet.


	8. Reintroductions and Fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five brings Vanya to talk with Diego.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Injury and fights.

Vanya was certain her face was turning a bright shade of red as she realized what the loud moan from the next room meant while Five stood next to her with a look of mild annoyance. The man who Five had introduced as Elliot was resolutely ignoring the noise as he meticulously decorated his plate of jello with what looked like some type of lettuce. No one wanted the noise to continue, but no one seemed to want to enter the room. With good reason.

They stood there for a moment when silence finally descended across the loft. Five let out an exasperated sigh before walking towards the room and banged on the door.

"Diego, if the two of you are finished, can you please come out so we can talk?" There was some shuffling and a muffled curse as Five shook his head then walked back over to her. 

She was leaning heavily against the wall as her leg cramped, causing pain to race down so she was unable to put any weight on it. Five noticed her discomfort immediately and reached out, pausing slightly when Vanya flinched but gripped her arm gently, leading her over to one of the couches. After making sure she was comfortable, Five walked into the kitchen leaving Vanya alone with her thoughts. 

In all honesty, Vanya didn't know what to think. She was apparently from the future and had six other siblings (and one was dead but still around because one of her brothers can talk to ghosts) who also had powers. They'd apparently time-traveled back to the past in order to escape the apocalypse using Five's ability, but things went wrong, causing the seven of them to be separated over the course of three years. And there was a doomsday threat that was just around the corner. This was making her head hurt, maybe she should call Sissy? 

After all, she did leave in the middle of the night and didn't return...

She should call Sissy.

It took a moment, but Vanya managed to stand up and walk towards Elliot. She quietly asked where his phone was and if she could make a quick call to which he nodded and pointed to where it sat on the wall. Vanya thanked him before limping over and picking it up, dialing Sissy's number quickly. There was some shuffling as someone stepped into the kitchen, she glanced over and saw a shaggy-haired man walk over to Five. They began speaking to each other in harsh tones, but Sissy had chosen that moment to pick up.

"Hello?" She sounded frazzled,

"Sissy?" There was a gasp on the other end,

"Vanya? Oh thank god, I was so worried! Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm, I'm fine. Look, I, I'm sorry I took the station wagon-" "I don't care about the damn car!" Vanya paused, something was definitely wrong.

"Is everything okay?" There was a harsh sigh in response,

"No. The record player broke and Harlan... Look are you coming back soon?"

"I... I don't know." Sissy seemed to tell something was going on.

"Vanya?"

"I, found my younger brother, or he found me." She explained, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything that happened." Vanya glanced over and realized the man (who she guessed was another brother) was watching her with a hand on Five's shoulder, apparently holding him back if the sour look on his face was anything to go by.

"I am so happy you found your family Vanya." Sissy's voice brought her attention back to the conversation, "I'm guessing we won't be seeing you tonight?" She let out a sigh,

"I don't think so. Like I said, I'm still figuring everything out." Sissy was nothing but understanding about the situation. The conversation didn't last long after that with Sissy wanting to get back to Harlan and Vanya promised to call later when she had a better idea of what to do. 

The phone was set down with a sigh as Vanya turned, limping towards the other room where Five, Elliot and the other man were sitting down. Elliot was animatedly telling them something which caused Five to roll his eyes, but she focused more on the person sitting across him. His hair was about shoulder length and was extremely tangled, it shrouded his face so Vanya couldn't gauge his expression, but he appeared slightly nervous if the shakiness of his hands were anything to go by. Five said his name was Diego and that the two of them had been close in their original time, so Five hoped that by talking to him, something would jog her memory. At the moment though, nothing about him seemed familiar. Her brothers both noticed her as she stepped further into the room, causing Diego to stand with a noticeable wince. Maybe it wasn't nerves that was making him shake, his friend from the field said he'd fallen multiple times when they searched for Five.

"Hey Vanya." She gave him a small smile, "You don't recognize me do you?" Diego asked with a sigh,

"Sorry. Anything before last month is, is gone." He shook his head and was about to say something when Elliot posed a question,

"Last month? So you lost your memories after you landed?" She looked at him puzzled,

"Landed? You, saw me in the alley?"

"Elliot watched the alley for three years, he saw all of you arrive." Five explained as the man jumped up, motioning towards a corkboard in the corner with pictures tacked on and slips of paper with dates written in hasty scrawl. Vanya studied the pictures, hoping for some type of recognition to pass through her. 

"These are-" "Our siblings? Yes." Five said as he stood by her, a cup of coffee in hand while Diego approached on the other side. "Well, the living ones anyway." He sighed and shook his head before turning away.

"Did Five tell you about-" "About Ben?" Diego nodded,

"Yeah, but he also said that, our brother can see him. Because of his powers." He nodded again before pointing towards the first picture on the board,

"That's Klaus. Him and Ben were the first ones to show up." 

"Hypothetically speaking." Five cut in. Vanya shared a confused glance with Diego before asking,

"What do you mean 'hypothetically' Five?" He gave a harsh sigh,

"It means I know that a living person can travel through time and space, a dead person's consciousness? No clue."

"Dead person's consc- like a ghost?" Elliot questioned, "Ghosts are real too?" His eyes grew comically wide when Five nodded.

Elliot was about to ask more questions but Five stomped off to the kitchen while muttering about needing more coffee. Vanya gazed back at the pictures as Elliot scurried after him, asking about ghosts and time travel while Diego stayed next to her. They stood silently for a few seconds before he asked,

"How much has Five told you?" 

"Oh you know," She sighed, "From the future, six siblings, an A.I. mother with an extremely huggable father. And an apocalypse." Diego turned his head sharply towards her,

"He, he told you about the apocalypse?" Vanya nodded,

"Five said it was an asteroid, that the impact whipped out everything." Diego stared at her before looking forwards and jerkily nodded, "Unless, that's not what happened?" He sucked in a breath,

"Vanya, that is what happened. But how it happened is an even longer story." He shook his head, "And I honestly have no idea where to start with it." 

She wanted to ask more but pursed her lips and nodded while staring back at the pictures of the others, hoping for some sort of recognition to pass through. The only images she was able to recognize were the ones of her, Diego and Luther. Vanya sighed as her mind remained stubbornly blank and took a step back, flinching as a twinge of pain flared across her leg. She didn't think it was bad, but Diego noticed her discomfort immediately.

"Is your leg bothering you?" He asked,

"Yeah," She said, trying to distribute her weight so none of it would be on her right leg, "It's been acting up the past few days. Also running through a cornfield didn't exactly help things." Diego stared at her in worry,

"You should sit down then." He held his hand out but Vanya waved it away, hoping to walk without help. Her leg had other ideas and decided to seize the moment she took a step, sending her towards the ground. Diego reacted quickly, catching her by the shoulders, and managed to keep her upright while moving towards the couch.

They must've made quite a bit of noise because Five came back into the room with Elliot and a woman on his heels. Vanya guessed she was Diego's friend Lila that Five had mentioned earlier.

"What happened?" Five questioned as he approached the two, looking Vanya over for injuries when Diego got her on the couch,

"It's her leg." Diego replied as he set her down, "Said it'd been bothering her for a few days."

"Damn it-" "Look, in my defense, it's never this bad." She protested, "Also I've never had to run away from people shooting at me." 

Five just shook his head and began rolling up the pant leg in order to get a better look. He let out a string of colorful words at the large purple bruise on her calf before teleporting (is that the right word?) out of the room. Diego, on the other hand, was more focused on the scar that twisted across her leg. His expression morphed into anger at the sight of it, but he quickly masked his rage once he realized Vanya was looking at him. Five came back in holding a towel that he'd wrapped into a ball and placed it on the bruise, causing her to hiss at the chill emanating from the ice wrapped inside.

"Is there anything else that hurts?" Five asked, "Broken bones, anything that you've neglected to mention?" Vanya shook her head as Lila walked over with bandages and gauze in her hand,

"Jesus that looks bad!" She exclaimed, gaining the sibling's attention, "What the hell happened?" Vanya shrugged,

"The bruise or the scar?"

"Both!" Five rolled his eyes as Diego tried to stop Lila from asking questions while Vanya shrugged again,

"Bruise happened when I was being chased, the scar I have no idea." She glanced between Five and Diego, but neither seemed eager to share details about it. If anything, both appeared enraged at the mere mention of it. 

"No idea?" Vanya gave her a tight smile and nodded, "Probably a good thing! Looks like whatever happened hurt!"

Lila sat next to Diego on the rickety coffee table, still staring wide-eyed at the scar. Vanya began to feel a bit uncomfortable with the unwanted attention and began to roll her pant leg down, clearing her throat as she took the ice pack from Five.

"The doctor said there was major muscle damage and what looked like a healed crack in the bone. Both look to be about a year old, but no idea of what happened. He said it was most likely a knife but..." Vanya shrugged, "This wasn't even the most confusing thing that the doctors found." Lila was about to ask what the hell she meant but Diego beat her to it,

"The burns on your back." She nodded as Five glanced between the two of them in confusion,

"Burns?"

"Yeah, some type of third-degree burns. They've healed pretty well, I don't need to have bandages on them anymore." Explained Vanya, hoping to ease whatever tension had developed between her brothers.

Neither seemed happy with her explanation.

Five appeared angry while Diego seemed downright murderous. He'd curled both hands into fists as he burned holes in the ground with his eyes. The rage he was showing made unease and dread twist in Vanya's stomach as if expecting it to be directed towards her. Though it made no sense.

Why does she feel this way?

Diego seemed to have noticed her unease and quickly leaned back. He cleared his throat as he stood up, muttering how he would be right back, and walked out of the room with Lila following him.

The remaining Hargreeves watched them leave before turning back to each other. Five cast her a questioning glance while she moved her gaze to the floor.

"You okay?" Vanya worried her lip between her teeth before looking back at Five.

"Do you ever, get this feeling. Like, your subconscious is trying to tell you something?"

"Like a gut feeling?" She nodded, "All the time. Why? Did you get one now?"

"Yeah, when Diego seemed, pissed off. It felt like..."

"His anger was supposed to be aimed at you?" Five sighed, "Has this happened before?"

"Um, when Luther found me." She said, "He got mad, thought I was faking not knowing who he was. It just, I felt scared." Five nodded at her explanation,

"That's understandable, someone you don't know just shows up-" "No not, not like that!" She cut off, shaking her head,

"It wasn't like stranger danger, or whatever. It was like, major flight or fight. Like, I was expecting him to, attack or something." Five contemplated her explanation silently while gazing at the floor.

The silence grew, causing Vanya to shift uncomfortably as it became slightly tense. Five stood suddenly, paced back and forth before stopping in front of her.

"Alright, I have an idea. Might work, might not." He shrugged, "But, it may help get some memories going." Five held his hand out, gesturing for her to take it.

"What do you mean?" Vanya questioned as he helped her to her feet.

"It seems like your subconscious is trying to get you to remember. But, it only acts up when there's a large emotional reaction." Five explained as he picked up a tie from the table.

He studied it for a moment before throwing it back on the table, muttering about cleaning it when he got back.

"Okay? So, what do we do?"

"We find Luther, and bring Diego." Five said, marching off in search of their brother.

Vanya stood there confused, not understanding in the slightest what he was thinking.

* * *

The people cheered and crowded closer together as Five led him and Vanya towards the front. Diego had absolutely no idea what his brother was thinking but had a small idea when he saw someone familiar standing in the center of the closed off area in the center of the room. 

Luther was standing across from a man that was about the same height as him, in a fighting stance. What the hell is going on? He shook himself and ran to catch up with his siblings, crouching behind them as they stared through the slots of the wooden barrier. The three watched as the fight began, their brother gaining the upper hand quickly against his opponent.

The crowd cheered, jostling the siblings in their excitement. Diego was certain most of them were drunk if the smell of the liquid that got splashed across his shirt was anything to go by. He just tried to focus on keeping upright and not toppling over onto his siblings, ignoring the way his legs were trembling as he crouched. (He would never admit it, but Five was right about withdrawals.)

None of them were too comfortable with their current position. 

What surprised them though, was when Luther completely lost his stance and just stood there. He dropped his hands, not even bothering to defend himself against the blows that his opponent dealt him. Diego watched as the man punched his brother in the face, abdomen, and chest while Five was shouting for Luther to fight back. His yells fell on deaf ears. 

"Why isn't he fighting back?" Vanya asked. Diego looked down, meeting her gaze and shook his head.

He had no idea.

Vanya turned back sharply towards the fight, knuckles turning white as she gripped the wood. Diego hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder, to which she removed one of her hands and clutched tightly at his wrist. 

Five kept shouting.

The man placed a strong upper cut on Luther's chin.

The Hargreeves watched in shock and horror as their brother's feet left the ground. 

Not one of them moved. 

Diego felt Vanya shrink closer to him and he moved his arm to wrap around her as they stared in shock.

Luther didn't move.

They watched as the opponent basked in the cheers of his supporters then spit on their brother's face before walking off. A group of people followed by an angry man in a suit came in, checking over Luther before the suit guy angrily gestured for them to move him. The men struggled for a moment before managing to pick Luther up and walked out. The siblings followed the group in shock as they watched Luther be placed in the back of a car and scrambled to get back into the station wagon.

Five grabbed the keys from Vanya and Diego pulled her into the back seat with him. Both brothers knew she wouldn't be able to drive with the way she was shaking. They followed the car with their brother to a boarding house where he was unloaded and carried inside. Vanya managed to remove herself from Diego's grip and opened the door.

"What are you doing?" Five questioned as she got out,

"Shouldn't we check if he's okay?"

"It would probably be better if we left him alone." Vanya shook her head at Five's answer and headed inside. Diego watched her walk off before getting out of the car,

"Where are you going?" Diego didn't answer, just followed Vanya into the building.

The two walked up the second floor, moving aside as the men from earlier trudged down the stairs. They shared a look before entering the room the group had exited and saw Luther sprawled out on the bed. Vanya walked in and sat in the chair across from the bed as Diego closed the door, leaning against it. 

Neither of them spoke just stared in worry at their unmoving brother as the sun began to peek in through the curtains. 


	9. Heartbreak and Riots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus finds a familiar face as the sit-in begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Violence, PTSD, racism and the use of tear gas.

"The car rumbled to a stop outside a hardware store as Klaus put it in park, staring at the door as his skin tingled with nerves and his palms became clammy with sweat. He wiped his hands across his jeans while taking a shaky breath as Ben's eyes bored into the back of his head. Klaus took another breath and was about to get out of the car when Ben said,

"This isn't a good idea Klaus."

"What isn't? I'm just trying some ole DIY." He stated, waving off his brother's concern as he opened the car door, "Just stay here, pretty please Bennifer?" Klaus slammed the door shut, promptly cutting off his brother's protest as he flicked his sunglasses in place.

He was greeted by the jingle of a bell as Klaus opened the door, glancing around at the multitude of tools that lined shelves. There wasn't anyone else in the store except for the man moving things around behind the counter before heading farther back into the store. Klaus felt his heart simultaneously drop with his stomach. Was he even here? Klaus knew this was were he worked before enlisting, but maybe today was his day off?

"Hi there!" Klaus turned and froze, "Is there something I can help you find?" 

The person in front of Klaus was young, eighteen or nineteen years old, but he didn't need to look at the nametag to tell what his name was: Dave. He may be younger than when Klaus had first met him, but it was definitely Dave.

Klaus was silent.

Dave was standing in front of him, alive. 

"Are you alright mister?" He shook himself slightly at Dave's question and let out the breath Klaus didn't know he was holding. 

"Dave?" Klaus was given a smile as the teen in front of him pointed to the name tag.

"Yep. That's what it says on the name tag!" 

He let out a small laugh as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, causing Klaus to blink rapidly to push them away, hoping that Dave wouldn't notice.

"Look at you with your... Jokes and, and name tag." Dave nodded, but the smile on his face dropped and was replaced with a look of concern.

"Are, are you sure you're okay? You ah..." He motioned towards his face, causing Klaus to frown as he placed a hand under his eye, cringing when it came away wet.

Klaus hadn't realized he'd been crying.

"I, uh, I'm fine!" He wiped furiously at the tears, flinching as his voiced cracked, "I, it's just, allergies! Yeah, just allergies." Dave stared at Klaus for a second, then nodded slightly,

"Alright," Klaus gave him a tight smile, "Is uh, is there anything I can get you or...?"

"Oh uh..." He glanced around, eyes landing on the stacks of paint behind Dave, "Paint!"

He was given a quizzical look, "Paint?"

"Yeah! I'm doing some, renovation in the second bathroom. It, it needs paint!" Maybe he should've made a plan before coming in.

"Alright so, what color where you thinking?" Dave questioned, pointing his thumb towards the shelves behind him

"I, do you have eggshell?" The confused glance Dave gave him made Klaus shrink slightly, maybe this wasn't a good idea?

"Egg- what do you mean 'eggshell?'" 

"It's, like an off-white. Like an eggshell?" He explained as Dave frowned,

"Well, we're fresh out of white. But," He turned, grabbing two cans off the shelf before facing Klaus, "I've heard Mamie Pink looks really good in the latrine."

"I guess I'll go with that then." Klaus gave him a smile as Dave placed the cans into the paint shaker and the machine whirled to life. 

Dave began moving around behind the counter, but Klaus' eyes were stuck on the shaking can. The rattling of the machine grew louder in his ears as he gripped the dog tags that hung around his neck. It grew louder, and louder until Klaus was standing back in the humid air of Vietnam with helicopters flying over head as blood gushed against his hand. He looked down and gasped at the sight of his hand pressed against someone's chest as their blood spilled past his fingers, coating them red.

Klaus glanced up and froze at the lifeless blue eyes that were staring blankly at the sky, he'd recognize those eyes anywhere.

Dave.

He was dead.

Dave was dead.

Wait, that wasn't right?

He'd just seen Dave, then who was this?

It _was_ Dave!

But, then who was he just talking to?

Why was he back in the war? Hadn't he left?

Yes, he'd left after Dave-

"Mister?"

Klaus was jerked out of his thoughts as someone gripped his elbow lightly, he glanced down at the hand before looking at who was at his side. Dave. 

"Are you alright? You weren't answering when the paint finished, and you're shaking too." Oh, Klaus hadn't noticed his hands were trembling, "Should, should I call someone?" He shook his head at the question and took a step back-

And bumped into the shelf behind him, sending a few items to the ground while Dave stared at him in confusion.

"Sorry I should, should go." Klaus turned on his heel, rushed out the door and dove into the car.

He jerked out into the street, barely dodging some sedan before speeding off while ignoring Ben's concerned question. It wasn't until they screeched to a halt at a stop light that Klaus let out a breath, resting his forehead against the steering wheel as a choked sob escaped him. 

"Klaus?" He didn't respond.

There was some shuffling then Ben's hand was clasped on his shoulder. Klaus took a shuddering breath as he sat back up, wiping at his eyes with his sleeves while Ben stared in concern.

"That was Dave in there, wasn't it?" He nodded, "Klaus, I get you missed him but-" "He enlists this week." Klaus interrupted, eyes glued to the road in front of them,

"The day after Kennedy gets shot. He enlists and ships out to Vietnam." He explained, rubbing at his eyes again while Ben stared at him.

"Klaus-" His brother was cut off by the car behind them honking, making both Hargreeves realize that the light had turned green.

Klaus gripped the wheel tightly as Ben removed his hand and the car began to move forward. They didn't get very far when the sirens of police cars rang out and about three cruisers raced past them.

"Wonder what the rush is?" Klaus questioned while Ben's eyes widened,

"The sit-in Klaus! Allison!"

The brother's shared a glance before Klaus slammed his foot on the gas pedal, speeding after the police as his heart began to race with worry for their sister.

* * *

Dave sighed as he began putting the items back into their space on the shelf, looking out the window every so often. The man had rushed out in a panic and had sped off without a second glance, making Dave wonder what the hell happened. There had been about five minutes of waiting for the paint to finish, and nothing drastic had happened that would explain the man's behavior. He just shook his head, placing the final item back on the shelf and was about to stand when something caught his eye.

There was some type of chain on the floor, one that would have been apart of a necklace. 

He reached down and picked it up while taking note of the tags hanging on the end of it. They spun gently as Dave tried to read the name, maybe he could return them too-

Dave dropped them in shock.

That couldn't be right.

He must've read them wrong there was no way-

"David? What the hell are you doing?" He jumped and turned towards his uncle,

"N-nothing Uncle Brian." His uncle raised a brow then shook his head before saying,

"Do a sweep then go on break." Dave nodded, shoving the tags into his pocket as he searched for the broom.

After making sure his uncle couldn't see him, Dave slowly pulled the tags out and read the name again in disbelief.

David Joseph Katz.

* * *

People were shouting, yelling at Allison and the others to get out as someone walked behind them while pouring salt on their heads and jeering at them. She wanted nothing more than to stand and use her power on the crowd but Allison bit her tongue, Honor and Dignity. There was nothing honorable about rumoring an entire crowd and there was no way to explain it to Odessa or the others.

They'd been sitting for almost an hour when Ray walked through the crowd and Odessa gave him her seat next to Allison. She reached out, but paused before sliding her hand back in front of her, unsure if Ray would be receptive to her. Her husband sat silently next to her, so Allison straightened her shoulders and fixed her gaze to the front of her. 

The shouting continued as Police entered the restaurant and stood among the crowd, waiting for one of them to move.

What surprised her though, was when Ray cleared his throat and began speaking to her,

"There was a visitor at the house today." He began, "The biggest white boy I'd ever seen and the crazy thing is, he said he was your brother." She glanced sharply at him,

"What? Luther?" Ray nodded, but didn't look at her,

"That's the one." She sucked in a breath,

"Ray I-" "All I wanna know, is what else you've been hiding from me." He said, turning towards Allison with thinly veiled anger on his face.

"Because first there's Klaus, then Luther, and he also mentioned a sister!" She stared at Ray wide eyed,

"Vanya-" 

Pain flared across her arm as something hot splashed across it, catching Allison off guard. She jumped up in shock while shaking her arm, catching sight of the overturned coffee cup on the counter. Someone grabbed her from behind and slammed her face down on the counter as two officers grabbed Ray with one beating him with a baton.

"RAY!" Allison screamed as the officers began arresting the others that were at the counter while Odessa was demanding the officer holding Allison let her go.

"We have a right to be here! Let her go!" Normally, Allison would've been grateful for the other woman standing up for her, but all she could focus on was the officer hitting Ray over and over again.

The next few seconds were chaos.

Ray was being dragged out while officers were pulling the others from their seats, roughly jerking them around. Allison jammed her heeled foot against the man holding her, catching him off guard and shoved past the people in the restaurant, trying to reach her husband.

"RAY!"

"ALLISON!" She raced through the protesters that had gathered outside Stadtler's, following Ray.

She raced forwards, getting closer but was stopped as one of the officers that had been dragging her husband turned and grabbed her. Allison struggled as she watched Ray being beaten, yelling at the officer the stop.

"YOU'RE KILLING HIM STOP!" The man paid her no mind. Allison fought against the officer holding her, barely noticing when someone pulled him away, she just rushed forwards, grabbing the officer's wrist, causing him to twist around and face her.

It took less than a second for him to shake her off and smack her across the face with the baton.

"Back off or you're next!" Allison stared at him in anger from where she was leaning against the car as he turned back to her husband.

She saw red as he raised his hand.

Allison grabbed his wrist again and hissed, "I heard a rumor, that you walked away!"

The man's eyes glazed over with a white haze as he dropped his baton and headed in the other direction. Allison paid him no mind, instead rushing to kneel beside Ray, trying to check him over and see how badly he was hurt.

"Ray, look at me! Look at me! Where are you hurt! Tell me where-" "What did you say to him?" She stared at him, "What?

"No white cop is going to listen to a black woman!" He gazed up at her, fear written across his face, "What did you say to him?!"

Allison couldn't fully register what he was asking, all she could focus on was the fear on her husbands face. Fear of her. Oh god, how does she fix this?

"Ray I-" "TEAR GAS!" 

Cannisters where thrown into the crowd, causing people to scream and run in different directions. Allison grabbed Ray, trying to shield him from the stampede of panicked runners as they stormed past. The Chestnuts were bumped into and shoved against the police car while covering their faces in a poor attempt to protect themselves from the gas, holding onto each other tightly. It felt like hours had passed before someone grabbed their shoulders and pulled them up.

"Let go!-" "Allison it's me!" She glanced up and came face to face with Klaus, "We need to go come on!" He didn't give her anytime to respond as he pulled one of Ray's arms around his shoulder and led them out of the crowd.

Klaus opened the door to some fancy rolls royce and gestured for them to get in. Once the door was shut behind her, Allison turned to her husband and began checking his injuries while resolutely ignoring the itching in her throat as her brother started the car and drove off.

Ray stared up at Allison in silence before grabbing her wrists, forcing her to look at him.

"What the hell did you say to the cop?" She shook her head before returning to his injuries, "Allison-" "Not now-" "Then when?"

Allison took a shuddering breath, turning away from Ray in order to blink the tears out of her eyes. She briefly caught Klaus' gaze in the rearview mirror as he gave her a slight nod before turning his attention back to the road and Allison looked back to her husband. Her hands found his, and gave them a gently squeeze

"Once we are home, and I'm certain that nothing is broken, then, I will try to find some way to tell you. I promise, but please, let me make sure you're okay!" The two stared at each other, Ray studying her with a guarded expression that caused Allison to grow worried.

Though after what felt like an eternity, he sighed and squeezed her hands back in a silent agreement. 


	10. Explanations and Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Violence, child abuse and vomiting

The sun had started to peek in through the curtains as Klaus snored quietly on the couch while Ray stared at Allison in disbelief. Not that she could blame him, the whole story sounded crazy and if Allison hadn't experienced it first-hand, she probably wouldn't believe it either. Neither said anything which caused the silence to grow, only to be broken by Klaus muttering quietly in his sleep. 

Allison glanced over at her brother in worry, hoping he wasn't about to have a nightmare. His face scrunched while he curled in on himself before flipping over and turning his back to the Chestnuts. Klaus appeared to relax slightly which allowed Allison to breathe a sigh of relief, but she kept her eyes glued to her brother as she remembered what Ben had said the morning before. How Klaus' nightmares of Vietnam have gotten worse over the past few months. Allison just hoped that if he had one she would be able to help him through it. Once she was certain Klaus had settled, Allison turned back to the table and pressed a pack of ice against her aching jaw.

Ray was still staring at her, silent.

More seconds passed as the silence pressed down around the room before Allison had enough,

"Can you say something?" She asked, causing Ray to lean back in his chair,

"What should I say?" Allison shrugged at his question, "You're apparently from the future and were some kind of superhero? With powers?" He shook his head and stood up with a grimace while clutching his side.

"I, I know it sounds crazy but I swear it's all true-" "Then prove it." Allison was visibly thrown by what her husband said, "What?"

"You heard me." Ray crossed his arms and stared down at her, "You said you have some type of mind-altering power, so prove it. Show me." It was now Allison's turn to stare in disbelief. 

"Ray, I... It's not something I can just, pull out and show you!" She exclaimed "The consequences of using it, it can be severe. Ray, I wouldn't be so cautious with using it without good reason! I've ruined lives with it, Ray! After Claire, I swore I would never use it again and-" "Wait, wait a minute." Ray cut her off, "Who's Claire?" Allison froze, she hadn't intended to mention her daughter.

He noticed her hesitation immediately.

"Allison," Ray said, prompting her to look up, "Who's Claire?"

She shook her head as the ice pack fell from her hand to the floor. Allison stood and walked over to the sink, staring out the kitchen window as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. The sound of footsteps echoed across the tiles as Ray approached her cautiously. He deserved the truth, all of it, but that made it no easier to tell.

"Claire is, w-was, my-my-" A harsh sob fell from her as tears erupted from her eyes, causing Allison to wipe them away furiously before taking a harsh breath and saying, "My daughter."

Ray was at a lose for words as Allison cried again, but he gently gripped her hand, giving her silent support in hope she would continue. It took a few moments for Allison to collect herself, but she told him what she had done,

"I used my power on my own daughter. Telling myself, that any mom in my position would do the same thing, that I had an advantage. My daughter would eat her vegetables when I told her, would stop throwing tantrums when I told her would go to sleep when I told her!" Her voice cracked but she kept going, "I don't know what would've happened if I hadn't been caught, if I hadn't lost her. But, I think I would've kept doing it. And I would have, never stopped to consider the consequences." Tears were falling faster, splashing against the counter but she made no move to wipe them away.

Instead, Allison turned and leaned against the counter, staring straight ahead at the wall while Ray's eye's burned into the side of her face.

"Claire's father Patrick, my husband, caught me rumoring her to go to sleep. He filed for divorce the next day and took Claire away from me. And that's when I began to realize that I needed to stop. When I promised myself I would _never_ use it again." Ray stared in shock at her admission, unsure how to respond. 

"Allison... I-" A thud from the living room cut him off along with the sound of someone scrambling around. Allison took a breath before stepping past her husband and headed into the other room.

Her steps faltered at the sight in front of her; Klaus had rolled off the couch and was clambering around the floor while muttering to himself. Allison shook herself before rushing towards her brother. She grabbed his hands, to which he froze in response before glancing up at her.

"Klaus? What's wrong?" He stared at her with large sorrowful eyes before shaking his head and trying to pull himself away, but Allison kept her grip tight, "Klaus please tell me what's wrong! How can I help?" Klaus kept shaking his head while trying to dislodge himself from her.

"Where- I can't- can't find them!" He whimpered,

"Can't find what, Klaus?"

"The tags! D-Dave's tags! I can't- I can't find them! I need to find them!" Klaus pulled his hands from hers and began to look under the couch, feeling the ground in a futile attempt to locate the missing tags.

Allison joined his search, looking under the coffee table before feeling along the couch cushions where Klaus had been sleeping. She knew how important the tags were to her brother, so her heart dropped when she came up empty. Klaus turned from the couch and began scouring the ground around him, frantically shuffling on his knees in a frenzy to locate the missing item while muttering a string of 'no's' under his breath.

"Klaus, they're not here-" "No they have to be! Maybe the kitchen!" He bolted upright and dashed towards the other room but was stopped when Ray stepped in his path.

"Take a second-" "No I need to look-" "I'll look! Alright? I'll look." Klaus stared at him, "You are about to fall over, so take a second. I'll look and let you know if I find them. Alright?" Her brother hung his head and nodded slightly. 

Ray took a step back as Allison wrapped an arm around Klaus and led him back to the couch. The two sat heavily as Klaus dropped his head into his hands and began to shake with silent tears.

"Could they be in the car?" Allison questioned, but he shook his head,

"Ben checked when I woke up, said they weren't there." He sniffled loudly, "I, they're all I have left of him!" 

Allison quickly pulled her brother towards her, resting his head in the crook of her neck as he freely cried. Ray came back into the room and shook his head, he hadn't found them either. Allison sighed and held Klaus closer while her husband sat in the chair next to the couch, grimacing slightly as he did.

"Ray, earlier when I-" "Later." He said, "We can finish that later."

She stared at him for a moment before pursing her lips and nodding then turned her attention back to Klaus. He continued crying into her shoulder, unaware of the palpable tension between the couple.

* * *

"Protect Number Five, at all costs." The Handler said while standing, "Remember Little One, what we do here, is for the best." Lilia nodded at her mother in slight confusion.

Protecting Five made no sense to her, killing him seemed more beneficial than anything but her Mother had a plan, she needed to trust that.

* * *

"-extra shirt in the wagon. I'll be right back." Who was that?

The sound of a door shutting jolted Luther further into awareness as the pounding in his head grew. He let out a groan as his eyes peeled opened, staring up at the celling of his room, how'd he get here. The last thing he remembered was-

Shit, the fight. 

Jack was going to have his head.

Someone coughed, causing Luther to realize he wasn't alone. The coughing continued, then sounded like retching, gross. Who was with him?

He braced himself, then slowly pushed into a sitting position with a groan as the room spun slightly. The dry heaving continued as Luther glanced around, eyes landing on someone hunched over in the corner clutching a waste basket to their chest. It took a few more seconds before the sounds of sickness stopped as the person looked up and Luther found himself staring at-

"Diego?" The man hunched in the corner had longer hair and a fuller beard than when Luther last saw him, but it was definitely his brother.

"Miss me big boy?" Diego asked with a smirk, but it quickly turned into a grimace as he began to cough and dry heave into the trash. 

Luther stood with a grimace, but made his way across the room and stood in front of his brother. After a few more seconds of Diego retching, he finally stopped and glanced up.

"You look like shit." Luther scoffed at his brother,

"At least I didn't puke out an intestine." He retorted, holding his hand out for Diego to take.

Diego let out a huff of laughter before clasping the offered hand. Luther pulled him up while grimacing at the clamminess of his palms, but didn't comment on the unsteadiness of his stance. He just let Diego lean against him as they walked back to the bed, both sitting with a groan.

"How'd you find me?" He asked as Diego rolled his eyes,

"How d'you think?"

"Five?" His brother nodded, then proceeded spit back into the trash, "What the hell is wrong with you? Is it a fever?" 

"I wish." Groaned Diego, "I now understand Klaus when he said withdrawal is a bitch."

"What do you- Oh, did the nut house give you drugs or something?" Diego froze then slowly turned his head towards him, "What?"

"You knew I was there?" He nodded and Diego began to look angry, "Why the hell didn't you come get me! Or at least- I thought everyone was gone Luther!" His brother exclaimed,

Guilt began to claw at his stomach as Diego glared at him, how the hell does he explain to his brother he was too much of a coward to face him? Diego wouldn't see that as a good reason because if the roles were reversed, he would've gone to see Luther despite what he'd done to Vanya. Silence pressed down on Luther's shoulders as he fumbled for an answer while Diego shakily stood back up and headed towards the chair sitting in the corner.

"Diego," He stared as Luther tried to string words together, "I-" A soft knock on the door cut him off before it was gently opened.

"Hey," Vanya stepped through, "There wasn't anything in the car. But I made Five grab water from the store around the corner." She held out a bottle of water that Diego took with a small nod of thanks as he shakily unscrewed the lid.

Luther watched as she took the trash can from Diego and set it on the ground before pulling a rubber band from her pocket. Vanya then began to drag their brother's hair from his face and secure it with the band behind his head.

"What are you doing?"

"Figured it would be better if it was pulled back the next time you start puking." She explained while handing back the trash can, 

Once she was certain Diego didn't need her attention, she turned and froze. Apparently Vanya didn't realize Luther had woken up, if her expression of shock was anything to go by.

"Oh, I'm sorry I-I didn't think you'd be up when I got back." Vanya wrung her hands nervously, "Do you, I can get asprin if you need-" "No it-it, it's fine. Thank you though." She nodded, but looked no less nervous.

"So Five found you?" He asked to which she nodded, "What has he told you?"

"Well, some gaps have been filled in. Seven kids, a talking chimpanzee, and a very cuddly father." She sighed, glancing at Diego briefly before saying, "And an apocalypse."

Luther froze and made eye contact with Diego while asking, "He told you about that?" 

Diego knew what he was asking and shook his head slightly and Luther's stomach dropped.

Vanya didn't know.

"All he told me was that it was an asteroid, that the impact wiped everything out."

She probably didn't know what he'd done either. But he still had to ask-

The look Diego gave him made Luther pause. Vanya didn't ~~know~~ remember what he'd done. What she had done either. 

He glanced back at her, maybe it was better she didn't know.

"Yeah, never thought I'd see the moon blow up-" "The moon blew up? How?" He could feel Diego burning holes into the side of his head, "I'm not the best person to explain it, because I'm not entirely sure _how_ it happened. Only that it did." Vanya didn't look happy at his answer, but nodded. She was about to ask something else but was cut off at the sound of thundering footsteps.

The door was slammed open as Jack ran in, fury splashed across his face.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Luther stood and lightly pushed Vanya to the side, making sure she was out of Jack's line of sight. "YOU COULD'VE TAKEN THAT CHUMP'S HEAD OFF NOW I OWE A LOT OF PEOPLE MONEY! SO YOU BETTER START TALKING!" 

"Look I-I just had a bad night that's-" "A bad night? A BAD NIGHT?!" Jack was in his face, jamming a finger into his chest "YOU COULD'VE BEATEN THAT BASTARD IN YOUR SLEEP YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"Leave him alone!" No, no Vanya don't-

Jack turned shoved her away, causing her leg to buckle and she tumbled to the floor.

"MIND YOUR BUISNES-" He cut off with a yelp, looking up at Luther in disbelief.

It took Luther a moment to realize why: he was currently twisting Jack's arm and holding it in a painful looking position. With barely any hesitation he pushed forwards and pulled the angry man behind him, tossing Jack out into the hall. Jack stood quickly while straightening his suit with look of indignation, he opened his mouth but Luther beat him to it,

"We're done."

Without pause he slammed the door shut in Jack's face, not moving away until he heard the man's hasty retreat down the hall. After taking a deep breath Luther turned back to his siblings. Diego had moved to stand next to Vanya, holding his hand out as she stood in case she fell over.

"You alright?" His brother asked, Vanya glanced up at him and nodded before gluing her eyes to the floor. Luther stared at the two, noticing the way his brother held himself back. In their original time, Diego wouldn't have hesitated to put a hand on Vanya's shoulder or wrap an arm around her. Maybe he didn't want to make her uncomfortable since she didn't remember him?

He shook himself slightly before walking to the dresser shoved to the side of the wall and pulled out a shirt. Luther set it down then quickly began unwrapping his hands, becoming aware of the conversation happening behind him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" His brother asked,

"Yeah I-I'm fine-" "You're shaking." He heard Vanya take a breath, "Did something happen? To me?"

There was a pause.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't really- It, just felt like I couldn't breathe for a second. When he pushed me." She explained, "Like a weird sense of, danger, or something telling me to run."

Luther turned as he finished buttoning his shirt, wondering if Diego would tell her about the attack. His brother was just staring while opening and closing his mouth, visibly unsure how to answer. He didn't have to think of one because a second later there was a flash of blue and Five was standing in the center of the room. He glanced around at them with a bored expression then said,

"Hurry up you two or we're leaving you here." He then grabbed Vanya's hand and jumped back out of the room with her, leaving the brothers alone. Luther cleared his throat, gaining Diego's attention,

"She doesn't know about the apocalypse?" He asked,

"She doesn't know about anything." Diego replied.

Luther stared at him before nodding and heading towards the door but stopped.

"Are you going to tell her?" Diego didn't respond, just looked down at the floor in silence. That was the only answer he got before his brother turned and shoved past him, exiting the room. Luther sighed and followed after him. 

Five was leaning against a car with a sour expression on his face that twisted further at the sight of them. He glanced up with a sigh then said,

"You both look like shit."

"At least we don't look like we're going through puberty." Five glared at Luther and was about to throw something back when Diego cut him off,

"Where's Vanya?" Their bother jerked his thumb back, pointing to her curled in the passenger seat. They both looked through the window then back at each other, Vanya didn't look good and both knew it.

"So are we going?" Five asked gaining their attention.

Both looked at each other, Diego tilting his head in a silent question that Luther responded with a nod.

"I'm gonna take Vanya back to the farm." Luther said as Diego rounded the car, tapping on the window to gain Vanya's attention.

"That's unacceptable Luther! We need to stick together!" Seethed Five,

"Look! Right now she isn't okay. You're telling me you didn't notice that?"

"Then we help-" "No Five, not us. She doesn't know us, but she knows the people at the farm. If anyone can help her right now it's them-" "We're her family-" "That she doesn't remember!" Five glared at him, then glanced back at the car. His gaze softened slightly, then turned back into an unreadable mask as he looked up at Luther and handed him the keys.

Five stepped away as Diego came around, stopping in front of the door and fixing Luther with a glare.

"Let me make one thing clear." He growled, "The only reason I'm not taking her is because I'll most likely throw up in the car. So if I found out you've hurt her-" "I won't hurt her Diego. I made a mistake last time and I have no intention of repeating it." Diego studied him with a hard expression before nodding then walking after Five.

Luther watched as his brother's disappeared around the corner before sighing and opening the door. Vanya glanced at him then turned back to the window as he started the car. They were both silent as he turned onto the road, neither knowing what to say. It wasn't until they were at a stop light that Vanya asked, 

"How are you getting back?" Luther glanced at her confused,

"What?"

"I mean, unless you plan on buying the station wagon, you don't have a way back from the farm." She explained,

"Oh uh," Luther shrugged, "If the people you're staying with let me use their phone, I could call a taxi?" Vanya stared at him but didn't say anything, she just nodded and glanced back ahead as the light turned green. 

The street stretched and turned into a gravel road, the tires crunching on the small rocks. Neither sibling had spoken during the drive. Luther didn't know what to say, he'd hardly talked to Vanya before the apocalypse and when he had, he'd said all the wrong things. 

And she didn't remember any of it.

What he said, or did. How the hell do you apologize for something that someone doesn't remember happening? He didn't get much time to ponder since the farm house came into view. So Luther shook off his thoughts, storing them in the back of his mind for later.

Vanya perked up considerably at the sight, more importantly, at the person who was currently rushing out to greet them. It was the woman who lived there, she was smiling brightly as Vanya tumbled out of the car before Luther had even parked it. The two embraced and began talking immediately, though the woman's smile dimmed slightly as Luther stepped out of the car. His sister noticed the apprehension and quickly stepped between the two.

"Sissy this is my brother, Luther this is Sissy." He gave her a nod then said,

"Hi uh, sorry about earlier I uh, it wasn't my intention to startle you or your son." Sissy stared at him, then nodded before turning back to Vanya,

"He drove me back. Wanted to make sure I got here okay." Explained Vanya,

"Was there a reason for you not to be okay?" Sissy asked, face pinching in confusion as Vanya shook her head,

"I'm doing better now." The woman studied Vanya before nodding and turning back to Luther.

"Is someone picking you up?"

"Oh, I was actually wondering if I could use your phone to call a cab? I can wait outside for it if that makes you more comfortable." Sissy shook her head at Luther,

"It'll take a cab ages to get out here, so no you're not going to wait outside. I'm about to start breakfast so you can have a bite while you wait." Luther stared at her shocked, he wasn't really expecting that. He glanced at Vanya who gave him a small nod in encouragement.

"If, if you don't mind, that actually sounds pretty great." 


End file.
